Noor Shahzad

Bitch Pastoral

Earth as brothel, brothel as the breath of a baby, a star
as a tin cup of lard, bitch-tits as wicks gone black,
black as the pitch of a planet spit out, the moon as a flooding
gland, the moon as one still howl, how to hear what’s still
born, born as something that barks, barking as Bach’s “Pastorale,” the wind
as one long woof, organs gone with the wind, organs as tubes of
sound, an organ playing a fallopian tune, an instrument as a network
of tubes, tubes tied and untied like a shoe, shoo to drive out a child, shoofly
as a rocking horse, hoarse as a galloping larynx, whore as stable
as the wee hours of morning, mourning as a prayer from doves, prayers
as birdseed leading to your mother’s feet, feet as foxtrot, mother as country,
country as cunt, cunt as lampshade, shade as the space beneath
a tree, tree as sovereign, monarch as butterfly, the butterflies are free,
free as falling planets, planets as minipills filled with estrogen, estrogen as
a supernova, superfine as periods of rest, rest as tax, tax as fees
and figures, figure in motion, motion as force, force as orbit, orbit as lady
of the night, night as the scent of a woman, ascension as prostration,
prostitute as forgiveness, forgiveness as a panting
dog, dog as dogma, dogma as literature, literature as Homer’s
bitch, Byron’s bitch, Joyce’s bitch, bitch as a birthright.

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Noor Shahzad received her MFA from the University of Massachusetts, Boston.