by Jana Astanov
nightly
she’s the garden
of flashing eyes
the honeyed dew of the female organum
her sex
she’s a bird of paradise
her writing her nest
where on closing and opening
her wings spread
her sex
swallowed the word in fire
might have been the world
flames in the room
the body a library
a killer
autopsies a soul
but never lingers in the remains
for fear of exposure
listen to the universe
screaming like smoke
whilst in her garden
spirit guides lay perfect eggs
to multiply
Duras
Lispector
Hejinian
Mayer
Weiner
Cesaire
Irigaray
Myles
into multiples of themselves
About the author
Jana Astanov is an interdisciplinary artist, a poet and an independent curator living in the Shawangunk Mountains. She is the author of five collections of poetry: Antidivine, Grimoire, Sublunar, The Pillow Book of Burg, and Birds of Equinox. Follow her on IG @Jana_Astanov & Twitter @JanaAstanov
