LOVE POEM TO LINE BREAKS

Nora Hikari


A LINE BREAK IS A LOVELY THING SEE IT'S NOT EXACTLY A PERIOD OR A COMMA IT'S KIND OF LIKE A HALF-BREATH OR A MOMENTARY PAUSE OR THE "MA" BETWEEN YOUR CLAPS OR A KNEE LENGTH DRESS I MEAN A LINE BREAK IS A KIND OF COURTESY I MEAN A KIND OF CURTSY I MEAN A LINE BREAK IS A KIND OF DEMURE LIKE OK LISTEN A LINE BREAK IS LIKE AN ACQUIESCENCE TO THE TYRANNY OF FORM AND DESIGN I MEAN A SUBMISSION TO THE DOMINATION OF BODY I MEAN SHAPE I MEAN A LINE BREAK IS A WAY OF TAKING A POEM AND BREAKING HER INTO A BUNCH OF JOINTS THAT HANG TOGETHER WITH SKIN AND SINEW SO YOU CAN FLOP HER AROUND MORE EASILY AND LAY HER ACROSS YOUR LAP OR A LINE BREAK IS A KIND OF THING FOR MAKING A POEM KINDER TO THE READER BY WHICH I MEAN WEAKER AND A LINE BREAK IS TEARING A WHOLE THING APART NOT AT ANY POINT THAT MAKES SENSE LIKE A COMMA OR A PERIOD OR A QUESTION MARK BUT AT THE POINTS THAT DON'T MAKE THEMSELVES EASY TO BREAK BECAUSE THEY DON'T WANT TO BREAK LIKE BETWEEN A PHRASE OR AFTER AN "AND" OR EVEN AFTER A "THE" IF YOU ARE FEELING A PARTICULARLY VICIOUS KIND OF WAY AND A POEM STANDS TALL AND PROUD STACKED UP ON THE BROKEN AND SEVERED PIECES OF VERTEBRAE THAT MAKE UP HER VERSES AND A POEM LEANS THIN AND SENSUOUS AGAINST THE LEFT-ALIGNED RAILING OF A PARTY FILLED WITH PEOPLE WHO ARE SEXIER AND MORE NATURAL AND MORE POWERFUL THAN HERSELF AND A POEM TAKES HER STRAIGHT STIFF PIANIST FINGERS THAT STRETCH ACROSS A PAGE AND SNAPS THEM HERSELF INTO BITE SIZED DINO NUGGET BABY BITCH PIECES AND LAYS THEM ONE BY ONE NEXT TO EACH OTHER ALL PRETTY-LIKE IN A LINE LIKE LITTLE TOY CIGARETTE SOLDIERS OR MARCHING MATCHSTICKS GOING TO START A WAR IN A FOREST AND A POEM GROWS WILDLY OUTSIDE OF HER BOUNDS AND DESIGNATED STRUCTURES SPILLING SOFT AND FOAMY ACROSS THE RIVERBANK OF HER INDIE CHAPBOOK PRESS AND THE KNIFE-WIELDING WRITER COMES BEARING THE GIFT OF DIMINISHMENT AND PORTIONS HER OUT RESPECTABLY AMONG A SWARMING CROWD OF HUNGRY WHITE SPACES I MEAN A LINE BREAK IS A KIND OF MAN I MEAN A LINE BREAK IS A KIND OF SCHOOL OF THOUGHT I MEAN A LINE BREAK IS A KIND OF RETALIATORY VIOLENCE I MEAN A LINE BREAK IS A KIND OF PUNISHMENT I MEAN A LINE BREAK IS A KIND OF CONSEQUENCE I MEAN A LINE BREAK IS A KIND OF THING THAT MAKES OTHER THINGS THAT SHOULDN'T BE INTO THINGS THAT SHOULD BE BY WHICH I MEAN THE SHAPE OF THINGS THAT SHOULD BE I MEAN A LINE BREAK IS A KIND OF ERUPTING COMMUNITY SURVEILLANCE I MEAN A LINE BREAK IS A TEMPLE TO DOMINATION I MEAN A LINE BREAK IS A PUBLIC RESTROOM I MEAN A LINE BREAK IS A VIOLENCE.