'reshelve' by Jen Crawford | States of Poetry ACT - Series One
in decades past a series of dykes was known as the venice
of the floods themselves, with a sweet sap
once the prey has entered the trap
the leaf closes, and within about 30 seconds
a senior minister has touched
two or three trigger hairs,
bristles on the distinction between
private beliefs and public morality,
his bottomline.
about two weeks later, north of the trap
at the city's shuttered airport,
pseudacteon flies, or antdecapitating flies,
appear to be in the thorax
of the government's profamily stance.
canals divert floodwaters out to the head,
then develop by feeding on the haemolymph muscle tissue.
after about two weeks they cause the ant's head
to grapple with its body
the fly pupates in the billions of dollars
cars are seen floating in a car park
Jen Crawford
'reshelve' previously published in lichen loves stone (Tinfish Press, 2015)