6 May 2009 | Vol. 9, No. 1
a prelude to her bones hanging elsewhere
to send into the world an account
my view of writing
among the rest
wet with the dew of repentance
not twenty years old
as there are so many unfeeling reports
I should have been free from her blood
but lo!
the young convict hanging
the image of death on my body
my imagination roved
her lifeless body
my bedchamber
newly launched into eternity
was it not marvelous?
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About the author:
Jeff Encke's work has appeared in or is forthcoming from Black Warrior Review, Colorado Review, Double Room, Fence, Poet Lore, Quarterly West, Salt Hill, Tarpaulin Sky, and 3rd Bed, among others. He has taught creative writing and literary criticism at both Columbia University in New York and Richard Hugo House in Seattle.
"Aziz Salih Al-Numan," "Latif Nusayyif Jasim Al-Dulaymi," and "Sa'd Abdul-Majid Al-Faisal Al-Tikriti" are part of a book-length series entitled Most Wanted; each addresses a figure from the Iraq's Most Wanted deck published by the Department of Defense in March 2003. Short phrases from these poems also appear on the playing cards of a custom-designed deck, which has been included in several exhibitions, including a visual poetry show at Harvard University in March 2005. Additional information about the project is available online at http://www.matlub.net/fulldeck.
For further reading:
See the complete list of work by Jeff Encke at 42opus. Browse the contents of 42opus Vol. 9, No. 1, where "a prelude to her bones hanging elsewhere" ran on May 6, 2009. List other work with these same labels: poetry.
