Anna Cates
Montage
It was the day my grandmother exploded.
It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks
were striking thirteen. The sky above the port
was the color of television, tuned to a dead channel.
124 was spiteful.
I was the shadow of the waxwing slain / By the false azure
in the windowpane; I write this sitting in the kitchen sink.
It was a pleasure to burn. —Money … in a voice that rustled.
It was love at first sight.
my opus
a tiny squiggle...
spangled night
sometimes only nonsense
makes any sense
Note: Lines from the prose section (first lines from each book) taken in order from:
Iain M. Banks, The Crow Road; George Orwell, 1984; William Gibson, Neuromancer; Toni Morrison, Beloved; Vladimir Nabokov, Pale Fire; Dodie Smith, I Capture the Castle; Ray Bradbury, Fahrenheit 451; William Gaddis, JR; Joseph Heller, Catch-22.
About the Author
Anna Cates lives in Ohio with her two cats, Freddie and Fifi, and teaches writing, literature, and graduate education online. Her most recent poetry collections include The Golem & the Nazi (Red Moon Press) and The Journey (Wipf & Stock).