Top Ten Things I Still Want to Learn and Write More About
10. Ferris wheels
9. Roadside attractions
8. Sister Xavier of the Ursuline Convent in New Orleans and Marie Laveau
7. Saint Dymphna
6. Catacombs of Paris
5. Lost towns under Lake Redrock, IA
4. Hummingbirds
3. Armatures
2. History of depressive disorders and treatments
1. Evolution of cognition / cephalopods
A New Poem from Jen Rouse
We are very thrilled to be able to present a poem from a new manuscript that Rouse is working on titled “Sweet Monster.”
“It focuses a lot of attention on the evolution of cognition based on studies done with cephalopods,” Rouse explained.
We couldn’t help but notice that this is the #1 thing on Rouse’s list. Check back this week for more new poems from “Sweet Monster.”
Protean
My arms are not my arms completely.
I know this because I would not—
knowing what I know—keep sending
you these messages, coded clouds
rippling across the surface of my skin.
I would say, stop reaching for what you cannot have.
I would say, your signals go unnoticed.
I would say, stop hiding in the sand.
But my arms believe they know you,
and they redirect each neuron to pulse
a silver body current of how constant
skin can be next to skin. How constant the river
of color and touch. There is no belonging
in this body without you, says the brain
that beats through three hearts
constantly improvising to make you matter.
In the way these arms have always known.