Finis
A sound-loop hangs from the white gallows of the page:
letter j strung up,
the crook of her foot postmortem—
leg sway.
Mouth retches
a vowel round o
then from the roof
gasps a dark l slung.
Is not innocent:
the i with a white noose
also around his neck,
blindfolded, asphyxiated.
Spaces within words are miniature knots
that suspend letters—
the paper
always tightening.
Copyright Credit: Orlando White, "Finis" from Letterrs. Copyright © 2015 by Orlando White. Reprinted by permission of Nightboat Books.
Source: Letterrs (Nightboat Books, 2015)