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New Poem by Greg Bell

Eyewear is pleased to offer a new poem by Canadian poet Greg Bell this last day of April.  He lives in Kingston, Ontario, with his family.  His work appears most recently in a chapbook from Cactus Press, Toronto, Better Locks and Daylight.  Here he is with one of his sons, Graydon.



Pencils
 
Drawn in by the long body and lean lines;
the bejewelled ferrule crimped into place,
willowy hips, slim fit and grooved glide, 
 
as the fingers wrap around its lacquered slats,
hike-up the hem with each slow grind,
and the chaff, unclasped, spirals to the ground.
 
I have made mistakes.
But you, flipped over, stiletto tip
wagging in the dusky air, and a distant
 
word scumbles, then a sentence annulled,
until, finally, under the rhythmic rub
of that supple, pink nub, whole histories
 
crumble, swept away with a wave.
Hard-cored, redeemed, and indelible --
I’ve come to find we’re not lead at all.

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