Untitled XVI

oh pearled body oh sick pearl oh forked pearl of sickness

oh tongue of sadness oh of oh licked asshole oh none

oh clean fork oh split halved oh come came oh bright thread

oh pearled fork oh no oh no oh turned signal oh turn

oh dull brightness oh bright fade oh fate oh hum hum hum

oh meat bird oh weekend traveler oh time turned

oh straight shift oh extinct clam oh irritant oh street

oh sacred thigh oh swish oh swi— oh laundry basket

oh boulders of empathy oh bright tongue oh stroke

oh clean street oh split fork oh facile ending oh slop

oh meat of sickness oh irritating bystander

oh laundered extinction oh halved oh sacred brine

Amie Zimmerman is from Portland, Oregon. Her work has been published in Sixth Finch, the tiny, pulpmouth, The Iowa Review, blush lit, and Paperbag, among others. She is the author of four chapbooks, including Compliance (Essay Press, 2018) and, with artist Samantha Wall, 31 Days/The Self (Ursus Americanus, 2021). Currently, Amie works as a hairstylist and PhD student in upstate New York.