Susannah Simpson
dress
if sadness was a dress
it would be drenched in seconds
wet with weep & heaving desire
to transform loss into letting
into the sweaty stench of return to,
when the throes are obviously those
of no longer, of graveyard destiny,
of be alone & think about it,
only mind will not allow relief
& thawing stings & stings
this sopping garment would cling
would mash would meld along the skin
its fibers clenching leg hair, underarm
tufts, the fur of sex felt & seized
by its relentless strain
pain to bone in utter sob of seams
unhinged, nothing to fight, only to feel
what is revealed: that what is gone
was meant to be, just as much
as what you wished for
that this deluge of a gown
is actually the crown of cleansing
turning you out,
setting you free
tyes
if not shame, then what?
a kinder game
if not art, then?
a different part
if not marble
onyx
if not phonics
a baseball game
Susannah Simpson is a multidisciplinary artist, performer, and poet based out of Durham, NC. They are the author of the poetry collection, I’LL GIVE IT TO YOU, and poems have recently appeared in Triangle Poetry, bedfellows, Day Job Press, and the art book Pure Paragraphs. Performance work has been featured in Ugly Duckling's Emergency Index. She is a co-creator of the series ALL RIGHT NOW! combining art and ritual with the intention of collectively reframing our relationship to time.