Carol Jenkins


Gecko

I first saw you
dried, flat, a fingerprint
of vertebrae and ribs
front legs pinned into your abdomen
the wavering pointer of a split seed pod,
cat’s claw, a menace digging vertically
into the tree above you
was a message to read you

Later I go back
for a second look
to slip you into an envelope

Now the scanned you,
a printed ghost, skewed by consideration
more smudged, potato print,
screen image, pencil sketch
all mesmeric

Your body a meniscus
Of paper, ink, skin and bone
The underside
too personal to consider.

Carol Jenkins

lives in Sydney and is working on
a series of bionotes which have appeared
in places like Overland, Snorkel, Island, Heat,
and Conversations. Chiefly water, in the tepid
phase, various long chain proteins,
calcium, she has a little too much fluoride
for most tastes, and a tiny prosthetic
imbedded in the left cochlear.


 
 
 
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