EMILY O'NEILL

Lemniscate

I’ve broken
my heart over my own knee
again.  I’ve broken
my nose pressing against
the fogged window.

When you are a swan
you lean your neck away
and into the water.  Scum
in your beak.  What gold
ellipse could’ve stopped this?

When you were a snake
I kept milking your mouth. 

**

I kept milking your mouth.
When you were a snake
ellipse could’ve stopped this.
In your beak, what gold
and into the water, scum.

You lean your neck away
when you are a swan.

The fogged window.
My nose pressing against
again.  I’ve broken
my heart over my own knee.

I’ve broken.

Emily O'Neill is a writer, artist, and proud Jersey girl. Her recent poems and stories can be found in GLITTERMOB, Noble/Gas Quarterly, and Profane, among others. Her debut collection, Pelican, is the inaugural winner of Yes Yes Books' Pamet River Prize and she edits poetry for Wyvern Lit. You can pick her brain @tabernacleteeth or http://emily-oneill.com.