Shuffle Along
hooked up
to the same pole
i.v. garlands
of cytovene & pentamidine
unravel queer patterns
of a survival ritual
that strings us
thread-thin yet tight
as life-partners
trapped in this marathon
of disintegration
the rhythm mutates
like the noxious virus
inside collapsing veins
& atrophied muscles
blurry eyes swirl
round the dying room
dizzily we drag on
carry each other
through the 11th hour
clinging desperately
while time ticks
like the noxious virus
inside collapsing veins
& atrophied muscles
blurry eyes swirl
round the dying room
dizzily we drag on
carry each other
through the 11th hour
clinging desperately
while time ticks
Notes:
This poem is part of “Déjà Vu: A Folio on Assotto Saint.” You can read the rest of the portfolio in the May 2023 issue. All poems and essays in the portfolio are from Sacred Spells: Collected Works by Assotto Saint (Nightboat Books, 2023). Reprinted with permission of Nightboat Books.
Source: Poetry (May 2023)