National Poetry Month : natalie hanna,

hyacinth and mordant

i.

if you could suspend the days

there would be

long enough to hang

all defunct fears on the line

peer through their sheerness

as much as the imminent

old wounds

iodine and blood stains

remain from the birth

of a firebird

almost worth the trouble

ii.

you asked me is there time

to let the body move

through this thing

and through that

to let the mind

accustom

before

all is fixed

indelible in the

lobes and fissures

of the heaving lungs

iii.

you wanted to be the

aurora borealis

changeable

and looked upon

with favour

but earthbound ask

which end of the stick you're at

punishing the cloth or

the cloth that you have punished

iv.

nothing is impermeable

be patient

fool with the peace

in nests that rest above

the threshing

don't discount the

the steeping and the churning

the promise of a thing

finely ground

the minute clicking of tongues

of those who watch the

fragile white turn livid

you'll get the hang

v.

it's the vinegar that makes it stick

if the wound is fresh

then wait

if wound is young

consider

if the wound is old

forgive it

natalie hanna is an Ottawa lawyer working with low income populations. Her writing focusses on feminist, political, and personal relational themes. she runs battleaxe press (small press poetry). Her poetry, interviews, and columns have featured in various Canadian journals online and and in print. Visit her online to learn more at: https://nhannawriting.wordpress.com/about/