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Written by Pris Campbell   
Photo by Sheilagh O'Leary
Photo by Sheilagh O'Leary
I want him inside me before weighing anchor,
certain Neptune will rise, enraged and hungry,
out of those black Jersey seas
to swallow us whole on this long night run
from Manisquan to Atlantic City.
I pull him into me hard--wild animals rutting
in this coffin-like cabin, feet kicking yes
to the seawater slosh outside. 

We stopped making love months ago.
Now we just use each other's bodies
to unleash our fears and occasionally
discover buried treasure.
 
Red clouds bleed into a blind man's sky
when we finally set sail toward the wrecks
of Perkins and McAllister, to Dead Man's Reef,
where the bones of ancient mariners still rattle.
Surreal lights on the distant shore glow
as people come and go to K-Mart or McDonalds,
normal people with TV's in their dens,
kids clinging to their hands.
 
The cowardly moon blinks, drops out of sight
and Neptune appears in the rising winds.
He growls at his fleeing prey,
hurls spume at our boat,
denuded quickly to storm jib and hope.
 
Each time I clamp my lifeline to the wet
bucking deck I dream myself someplace safe,
safe in the arms of a man with thick legs and big hands,
a man who wants solid ground beneath his feet, but
 
I know that my siren sisters who called me
on other nights and who called me tonight,
won't easily release me, so strong
are the sea-borne threads between us.
 
I slip-climb back to my lover's lap,
let him fill me again as we
surf down the screaming seas,
arm braced beside his at the tiller.
 
I pretend he's an angel washed up over the railing,
his mouth rimmed with magic, his semen luminescent.

About the Author

Among other journals and poetry collections, Pris Campbell's poetry has been published in Poems Niederngasse, MiPo Publications (print/digital/radio), Boxcar Poetry Review (her poem in the May 2007 issue won the issue's peer award), The Dead Mule: An Anthology of Southern Literature, In The Fray, Blackmail Press, Tears in the FenceThunder Sandwich, Verse Libre, and the Woman of the Web Anthology. Her chapbook, Abrasions, was published by Rank Stranger Press and Interchangeable Goddesses, with Tammy Trendle, by Rose of Sharon Press, S.A. Griffin, publisher.

...

Comments (4)add comment

Joseph Lillo said:

I keep wanting to put something other than "wow" in here, but since I can't think of anything else... wow.
January 18, 2009

courtney said:

another of pris campbell's powerful poems. if you haven't read 'abrasions' or her little red book from lummox press, i highly suggest them!
January 18, 2009

Malaika said:

I'm echoing your sentiments Courtney. "Hesitant Commitments" from lummox press has poems that set fires like this one does.
January 19, 2009 | url

Pris C said:

Thank you all for your comments. They're much appreciated!
January 20, 2009 | url

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Meet the Cover Artist

About Sheilagh O'Leary

Sheilagh Ethne O’Leary is an established award-winning art photographer born and living in St. John’s, Newfoundland. Her work has been exhibited/collected internationally and appears in numerous art journals and publications. Sheilagh received her art education through mentorship with Manfred Buchheit, Concordia University’s Faculty of Fine Art, Banff Centre for the Arts, and the Rockport Maine Workshops.   Read More...

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