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The Ineffable, Thom Ward

The Ineffable
Thom Ward

Of course it’s the moment
all lovers hope to reach
between cigarettes and the work
of each other’s buttons.

In nursery school
you hung out with its pals
enchantment and wonder,
stacked blocks, spread paint.

After the explosion, the sweep
of bullets through the market,
it takes up shop in your throat.
Looks like you were lucky

enough to survive the errant
missile. Grab a chair, my friend,
the one covered with dust,
and it will buy you a drink.

Oh, yes, did I mention? —
the hole in the rope
from which the body dangles,
the gaze of an ape.


More poems by Thom Ward.
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At Twenty-Three Weeks She Can No Longer See Anything South of Her Belly

I'm painting my wife's toes
in Revlon Super Color Forty Nine.

I've no idea what I'm doing.
She asked me to get the bottle,

then crashed on our bed,
muscle-sore, pelvis-aching.

Lifting the brush, I skim
the excess polish across the glass,

daub a smidgen on her nail,
push it out in streaks

over the perfect surface
to the cuticle's edge.

I'm painting me wife's toes.
I've no idea what I'm doing.

The smell of fresh enamel
intoxicates. Each nail I glaze

is a tulip, a lobster,
a scarlet room where women

sit and talk, their sleek,
tinctured fingers sparking the air.

-- Thom Ward