Thrush Poetry Journal
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Amanda Oaks
​

Ode to the Knife

half    of your tongue    is coated    in salt—sugar
forgive me    for wanting—thinking    about how
a road    divides    the wood    headlights—the dark
I close    one eye    flick    my vowels    skyward
& watch    through dirty    window—a lens
of mistake    while    you    cut    the apple
in two    & two    & two    while    I    god-over
the garden    the melt    what is spit    or swallowed
this push    &   pull    I listen    to the wind
make love    to the fence    the sigh & moan
the war    cry    of leaves    who    kiss branch
& fall ill    from tree    hit cement    & crumble
to ruin    beneath tire    after tire    after tire
I know    we both do




Amanda Oaks is the founding editor of Words Dance Publishing, an independent press + biweekly online poetry journal. Her works have appeared in numerous online & print publications, including decomP, Stirring, & Heavy Feather Review. She is the author of four poetry collections: Hurricane Mouth (NightBallet Press, 2014), her co-authored split book, I Eat Crow (Words Dance, 2014) & her series of free music-inspired eChapbooks which can be downloaded here:
http://www.amandaoaks.com/ Her forthcoming chapbook, The River is Everywhere, will be published by Red Flag Poetry in summer 2017.




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