The Knife-Thrower Cannot Practice His Art with Pillows and Chocolates, and: Where the Accident Begins, and: The Same River
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The Knife-Thrower Cannot Practice His Art with Pillows and Chocolates
Additionally, he needs a livingAssistant, someone who
Can curse his aimWell when it needs
Cursing. He prefers someoneNamed Lola, but you
Will do just fine — a target,But not the one he aims for.
He promises to keep it simple:One knife at a time.
You hope he’s good. In a way,He’s as handsome as every lover
Who took his chance and leftA knife in your heart. Now [End Page 232]
Here you are again,Strapped, wrists and ankles,
To the spinning wheel. He winksAnd starts you spinning. Sure,
You know just howThis will end, but all
You want is for him to learnExactly how to miss you. [End Page 233]
Where the Accident Begins
It wasn’t until humansTurned from foraging to farming
That the rodent population reallyExploded. Grain for the taking,
You know. The rats turnedFrom foraging to pillaging. Then we
Invented warfare and historyAnd writing, too, to keep
Track of the vessels of wheatAnd rye, our dead and our victories. [End Page 234]
The Same River
When you enter a strangeCity, it becomes familiarA little — that doorwayIs a place to stand out ofThe rain, that maple is likeAnother maple severalStates away, that manAt the bus stop looksJust like your father,Who once entered a strangeCity, a few yearsBefore you were born,And found the place that youWould some day leave. [End Page 235]
Jeff Mock is the author of Ruthless (Three Candles Press, 2010). His poems appear in American Poetry Review, the Atlantic Monthly, the Georgia Review, the Iowa Review, New England Review, the North American Review, Shenandoah, the Southern Review, and elsewhere. He teaches in the MFA program at Southern Connecticut State University.
