[My mistress’ eyes are nothing like the sun]
transmisogynists seek hymen lie / “true” he
of her (methodical rip)—rare, red snarls
(boyish hair)—sew wet hernest—the fawn burned
(forehead aglow)—hew sinew, ribs, herb, iris—rack
(shed winterdead horns)—i evade seam, ask
crush to hush (be creeknoises)—seen,
hunter deems doegore ripe filth—miss-name
me (thinnest break / froth)—meaty thrash stirs me—
we heal horse ankle, wive elk, pity root
at high moon phase—cum-salted fur—a strain
in weaving—doe rode stag—grass
grew monstrous and kind—amethyst hews her less
than ivy—oh leaky, needy men (a starverib)—
my she peels, watches a boar in a field.
Notes:
These poems, what I call “divinations,” were created with the assistance of an online anagramming tool and the source text of Shakespeare’s 154 sonnets. The first line of the corresponding Shakespearean sonnet is borrowed as the title for each divination. The rule I set was to anagram line by line, so each line of the divination has all the same letters as the corresponding line in the Shakespearean sonnet.
Source: Poetry (October 2022)