April 14 – Connie Post

NPM Thorpe

Welcome to National Poetry Month and Gyroscope Review’s month-long celebration of poets – and their diverse Writing Assistants. Enjoy the audio/video works by previous Gyroscope Review poets and be sure to check out the Author and fun Writing Assistant Bio at the end of each NPM poet post. Don’t forget to tag the poet on Social Media and let them know you enjoyed their work!

Sex Backwards

Sex Backwards

Close all the openings of yourself
even the ones 
he doesn’t know about

make sure nothing is swollen
and tell yourself you can return
to the room when it’s over

find your skin 
sainted and sallow
the way it was before
you closed the thin door  

close your mouth 
make sure all of your dormant shadows
have receded to the back of your throat

trail the memories of the body
backwards
up to the hip bone
the rib cage, the neck 
then to the half parted lips
that spoke your name
like a psalm

un-arch your back
un-tangle your hair
pretend nudity is the prayer
of uncovered skin

walk away from the made bed
button your blouse 
as if you understood 
something about order and separation 

look at him 
as if he has always known you
and never known you

and then tell yourself 
there is no such thing
as hunger 

WRITING ASSISTANT BIO

My coffee mug is brown and orange striped. It is my daily companion. It has the perfect handle and thickness. It holds my decaf coffee with my daily too much half and half. I need it to be at my desk, the stripes give me order and remind me to get back to writing.  The pattern reminds me of old kitchens and a Danish woman who let me stay with her when I had nowhere else to go when I was young.  I could not write without this mug.

Mug

AUTHOR BIO

Connie Post’s work has appeared in Calyx, Slipstream, Comstock Review, 2 River, American Journal of Poetry, River Styx, Spoon River Poetry Review, Slippery Elm, and Verse Daily. Her poetry awards include the Liakoura Award and Crab Creek Poetry Award.  Her full-length collections include Floodwater, Prime Meridian, and Between Twilight. Between Twilight was a finalist in the 2023 Best Book Awards. Her 2023 chapbook, Broken Metronome, won the American Fiction award for a chapbook.  Find out more on www.poetrypost.com   

Don’t forget to read the Spring 2024 Issue of Gyroscope Review.

NPM 2024 Poets

April 1 – Cal Freeman

April 2 – Susanna Lang

April 3 – Marion Brown

April 4 – Melissa Huff

April 5 – Elaine Sorrentino

April 6 – Alison Stone

April 7 – Alexandra Fössinger

April 8 – Laurie Kuntz

April 9 – Dick Westheimer

April 10 – Wendy McVicker

April 11 – J.I. Kleinberg

April 12 – Ellen Austin-Li

April 13 – D. Dina Friedman

April 14 – Connie Post