Christine Marshall

the look on your face

judgment’s long shadow
darkens sidewalks slides
across the tongue and splinters
in the throat

none of you
ever said Art is selfish but it’s clear
as lipstick on your teeth

that the sun’s hot ticker’s
winding down and words
can’t turn a screw Work’s
muscle scrubs the self
clean of itself

even standing
in shadow, I can see scales
pooling their light at my feet

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Christine Marshall’s first book, Match, was published by Unicorn Press in 2018. Her poems and essays have appeared in publications such as Best American Poetry, Agni, Boxcar Review, Missouri Review, and The Sun. She lives and teaches in Charlotte.