Sublimation
Krista Carson (University of Gloucestershire)
soon, soon I will open those feeble racks
hang each limp lady to dry my braless morning act
while my eyes adjust to blinding bright circadian, sweet
soon soon
lullaby wind that dulcet, time-honoured sound of alchemy
& the glorious, auspicious sun
will do my bidding will scorch the hurries and hostilities of yesterday
& offer up the mourning dove hum of today
an incantation
whispering words of stone-sturdy promise
however burnt it all may get
soon I will honour some pact in my bones
a holy cartography on how to live
a tacit nudge
to tend the gentle vowels of my days
the textiles of my beloveds, of my life
to heed the message in the shriveled pocket of s l o w, old linen
ask my grandmothers and theirs about this limbic ritual of stiff towels
soon I can see if my maudlin stain is any match for the sun
when the competition is on its 4th round
the palimpsest spot is faded to imperceptible
soon I will avert my gaze and declare the victor
soon the days will be long enough for all this
but then summer is only a blip
and anyway I can’t wait
so—at least for now—these garments and I will drip
& sublimate
like the plush mist of ice vapourizing from shirts
my distress and shell pink sheets
in view of my brood
my grief my rage my doom
and yes, my apathy
expressed as laundry, domesticity
revelling in the suburbanite darling dull
of freeze-dried clothes
Krista Carson is a PhD student at the University of Gloucestershire. She writes creative nonfiction, fiction, and poetry, often exploring nature/culture themes through a feminist lens. Krista teaches post-secondary and lives in southwestern Ontario with her husband, daughter, and whippet.
