My private missile crisis
Ignition falters once
Twice miss the mark by seconds.Tack my womb to the cross,
Empty my egg baskets,
Soon I will not need them.A pig with a solid gold nose ring,
Jesus, bless me with your humility
My snout is itching.Humiliation becomes me
Since before birth,
I’ve picked my nose with a crucifixLord lays down his punishment
And now my faulty rocket can’t
Get off the groundI’ll pay for it in spades,
Repent my nose-picking sins,
Bear this propellerSplintery lips fire
Static sparks into my body
Still I stall the stuttering engineHere the Kings of Israel sat
To judge their people
Quivering nights awaitIt eludes me,
Like mucus on the corner of my iris
I can’t focus onThe mechanic says my engine
Is easily fixed
Soon, he tells meHow certain your promise is,
Of combustive exaltation,
Til my grave ices overMy private missile crisis,
Ignition falters three times,
Mark the miss by years
33.0: CREATIVE COMMONS
Poetry Editor Alison CroggonReleased August 2010
Index of Poems
The guest poetry editor for this issue was Alison Croggon, and the cover image was created by Fortner Anderson. It was published under a Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial Share-Alike (3.0 Australia) licence. In October 2010, we published CC - THE REMIXES (33.1, 2010), a selection of re-workings of the poetry in CREATIVE COMMONS. You are free to share and remix these works under certain conditions.





