Belt
The verb belt,
meaning to latch
a belt around,
to torture
a garment
by twisting
its lines, to
bring the waist
of a sweater
or dress closer
to the waist
of the wearer.
When I bought
my wedding gown,
I was zipped up
by an Ichabod
Crane-esque
man who claimed
he could put
any girl into any
dress. One
two sizes too
small, he convinced
to close in on me.
In every city
I have lived in,
I find a reliable
tailor. Whatever
is ill-fitting, I
isolate it, threaten
it with thread
and needle,
or leather.
Do you or
someone you
know share
in my fetish
for strategy:
how should we
go about this,
which elegant
approach will
I uncover that
has never spoken
to anyone else.
Strategy or
strangulation,
their hands
look the same,
draped around
a lover’s throat.
Elegantly threatening. I liked this - a lot.
ReplyDeleteOooh, somehow, skinny to start with, this gets tighter and tighter as it goes!
ReplyDeleteI can feel the closing-in and constriction!
ReplyDelete"Strategy or / strangulation,/ their hands / look the same...." definitely got my attention.
This is so dark and visceral. I love it!
ReplyDeleteThis poem is - forgive me - tight.
ReplyDeleteOuch. I felt like I was being squeezed by a boa. For me, the word 'belt' always evokes violence.
ReplyDelete