Therapy
After my mother
gave birth to my brother
she did not let my father
have sex with her anymore.
Instead, she preferred
to have her belly caressed with
a peacock's feather.
I still remember
how she used to laugh
and laugh…
and then cry.
Ode to birds
as a small child I was adopted by birds.
my foster parents lived in a tree hollow
and fed me and my siblings with mice.
as an adult I have a nine-to-five job,
live in a high-rise apartment
and feel lonely and cold.
even now, so many years later, I remember
how my bird-parents preened and stroked
my mane telling me how much they love me,
however different from them
I was.
every Christmas I write to Santa Claus
and ask for a sign from my bird-parents
but all that I’ve noticed
is feathers floating
through a hole in the ceiling.
Contamination
I remember the spring when I coughed up tulips. At first it was strange, even disturbing. People looked at me in amazement. Then, with time, it became something humdrum. Actually, I even managed to sell those tulips. Every Thursday a wholesaler would come and buy them in bulk. Later, I found out that when the tulips were placed in vases they immediately morphed into crows.
Ellen Price talks to the moon
Because in Copenhagen
there is no white and layered cake
I become a mermaid.
With my mother’s mother’s worry
my mood is rain.
My mouth wants
what another mouth has to eat:
cum,
hard lakes,
fox fur
softened in milk.
*Ellen Price, the early-20th-century
Danish ballerina was the model for
Edvard Eriksen's statue of The Little Mermaid.
Luminous animals
I ordered you to crawl
on all fours
and bring me a flower
between your teeth.
I saw you thinking about my request,
then, I saw you blush.
You knelt down and kissed my feet.
When you got to the window
it was already night.
A feather fell from one of the stars.
A young woman with old hands
was combing my hair.
Making new friends
Excuse me, do you speak the language of butterflies?
From the shape and color of your hat I conclude that you do.
Is it your native tongue or did you learn it through Duolingo?
I hired a friendship coach to help me make friends.
So, I am now practicing making yourself available.
I mean I am looking for opportunities to talk.
He advised me to talk to anybody:
the supermarket cashier, the person sitting next to me on the tram,
the security officer who guards the institution where I work.
However, I approached you because you seem to be
a person who also needs friends.
Let's have a coffee and act like we haven't been
married for twenty years. Let’s say something friendly,
like Isn’t it a gorgeous day? or That is an outstanding hat!
and see where it takes us.