Sue Butler
Saturation
It is between my fingers
and behind my knees.
On the soles of my feet
and under my arms where the hair is dark.
In the knotted dip of my navel.
It is in my haemoglobin
and the cells of my tracheoles.
Is the cause of thumping
in the canals of my ears.
Is ninety percent of my eyes.
It is on the face of my watch
and on every page of my discarded book.
In the glass on the table
it is the very tension of the meniscus.
It is in the willows clawing at the window.
In the dark furrowed earth
and the estuary reeds.
It is in the gutter blocked with moss
everywhere except my lips
and the roof of my mouth.
They are cracked and bloody,
abraded by the raw,
sawing of salt air,
the taste of telling you again
and again, this has got to stop.
and behind my knees.
On the soles of my feet
and under my arms where the hair is dark.
In the knotted dip of my navel.
It is in my haemoglobin
and the cells of my tracheoles.
Is the cause of thumping
in the canals of my ears.
Is ninety percent of my eyes.
It is on the face of my watch
and on every page of my discarded book.
In the glass on the table
it is the very tension of the meniscus.
It is in the willows clawing at the window.
In the dark furrowed earth
and the estuary reeds.
It is in the gutter blocked with moss
everywhere except my lips
and the roof of my mouth.
They are cracked and bloody,
abraded by the raw,
sawing of salt air,
the taste of telling you again
and again, this has got to stop.
Page(s) 93
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