"decline mantra (aldi at 46th and market)" by Diandra Williams

"There is a look one sees, the mouth somehow desperate– … the fear of death, taking as its form dedication to hunger…" - Louise Glück b/c one day i will want for nothing b/c one day i will not want b/c one day i will need nothing to want for b/c one day my body will cease to function b/c one day my body will function outside itself b/c one day my body will cease functioning as a vessel for causeless desire b/c one day my body will cease desiring cease to function b/c one day the flesh of the earth will clothe the body’s naked hunger b/c one day i will feed off nothing but the dirt’s choicest cuts b/c one day the dirt’s best nourishment will stonewall the body’s needing & wanting b/c one day i will become dirt my gut become dirt pelvis become dirt hands legs spinal column become dirt skull cavity encompass dirt drawing down dirt to become dirt one day b/c the hungry ghost of my body seeks grene pasture & stil waters one day b/c feeding the 5000 remains a miracle, not a reality one day b/c desperate measures leave ample room for development one day b/c 2Bd / 2Br Luxury Apts resign us to dirt b/c the PIN #: **** issues DECLINE & no other b/c a woman’s body is a grave b/c the rectum is a grave b/c the coffin of my body cradles your body it will accept all manner of things ————————————– Diandra Williams called us from Philadelphia, PA. voicemailpoems.org/submit/ facebook.com/voicemailpoems x.com/voicemailpoems bsky.app/profile/voicemailpoems.bsky.social instagram.com/voicemailpoems