There was a time in Eastern Europe
when men accused women of possessing
fluencies in the fervent barking of
three-legged dogs & supplying proxies
of black magic with nutrients from the
wellspring of the breast. Fools will
claim this fear of feminine power has
since waned with each passing harvest.
All apologies for whichever slurred
locution I dilate through the telephone line,
lulls piercing your supine murmur
feel like October surging through my veins.
Michael O’Ryan’s recent work appears or is forthcoming in Alien Mouth, Ampersand Literary, Building 45 Literary Journal and elsewhere. His poetry was included on Ampersand’s Summer 2016 “Best of the Season” list. He tweets @surfing_montana