Mary Practice
by Christina Marini Sanborn
I am ripe starfish
of maggots and lace
a Virgin-Mary-accessory
in the twilight
unblinking
still wearing
that shadow-dove
of me
just his practice
into me
a dead hand
maybe slow motion
he’ll extend
back down
easy
Jack’s dead Jill
incarnate
I collide
limp with the sick
constellations
of harlots I might spill
this place
with chalices of flies
and rock-a-byes
clumsily maintained
in diaries of slaughter
nameless, dainty
unmistakably swaddled
in tantrums of snow
a mangy swan
of crippling parts
expecting more blood
from the ruins
of mute magic
he keeps
me
asleep in mock-sunshine
to sell me open
a spilt-cherry-yolk
upon finding
red ink to virus
awkwardly holy
image: painting by Georgia O'Keeffe
Christina Marini Sanborn is a poet and multimedia artist from Central Massachusetts. They are the founder of Funeral Mothers, an "experimental feminist movement" that combines visual art, poetry and avant garde theater with death-positivity. Currently, they are working on their first chapbook, Death's Shopping Cart, as well as a zine, Autistic Witchcraft.
You can follow them on their Instagram @funeralmothers to view more of their work.
