Rowan Block

Rowan Block Poems

The Best Poem Of Rowan Block

I Need

I need bone corsets and a necklace of pearls,
single-jeweled bracelets and corkscrew curls.
I need single striped socks, bars running up my shins,
and a stripe or circles on my back, creating my dorsal fin.
I need bulky round rings, one on each finger,
and shoes that lift the weight so no footprint will linger.
I need thick wide garters circling my knees,
and a double studded belt, though no one will see.
It doesn't really matter, 'cause it's all for me.
I need mirrors like air, to help me breathe
or suffocate.
To live, or die.
Or is it
to die, or live?
I've forgotten which is which,
is it day or night when the moon shifts?
Light and dark I can't distinguish,
maybe that's why I can't switch
a corset for a dress, and no pearly white skin,
expensive jewels for less and curls that don't make my head spin;
stripes for dots and bars for walls,
circles for lines and no fins at all,
but no.
I need bones jutting through my skin,
created by the hunger festering within.
I need a little white scale to reveal the truth,
I need beauty and perfection...
anything but food.

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