Rachel J. Fenton

Nuts

Nutation: nodding; oscillation of earth's axis
making motion of pole of equator
round pole of ecliptic wavy; oscillation
of spinning top; curvature in stem of growing
plant. (OED)

*

In China,
to gift a man nuts
is to wish him death.

*

Egyptian sky goddess: Nut,
a sow suckling piglets
(stars) or a cow
with a belly full (stars).

*

NUT: the national union of teachers.

*

The smell of cyanide:
“teeth are peeled almonds”
(Jeanne Bernhardt); of apple pips
peeled, eaten anyway, to keep
the doctor away. One a day.

*

Ground nuts, dry on the tongue...
Stay away from me for both our sakes...

*

If a Chinese man reaches
for the stars, is his fall guaranteed?

* Asterisk: indicates particulars, present or omitted.

Ferret with a pig at the back.
Rosey: legs like pea sticks
caning it up the lane.
*: a symbol.
Kids left to play on the High Street.
Cried peeled apple pips
when they took them away after finding
their mother inside the pub,
drinking cider.

*

Seeing stars:
none brighter than loss
through which, cutting a direct line,
you will reach the crux; go nuts, you can
map the night sky.

Rachel J. Fenton is a writer and painter living in Auckland, New Zealand. She has prose and poetry housed in Ramshackle Review; Eclectic Flash; Melusine; Camroc Press Review; and Ink, Sweat & Tears, and other venues. Her short fiction "One Of These Days" was longlisted for the 2010 Sean O' Faolain International Prize and her flash "Rogue Trading" was shortlisted for the 2010 Fish Prize. Links to other published works can be found at: snowlikethought.blogspot.com.
 
 
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