19 Sep Rhiannon Collett
FACTORY
33 inches over nipples
bust 26
Do Not Escalate
i am always capitalizing
but your name was
Gratuitous
she saw you in the courtyard
my measuring stick
slick with love like
fake blood like
garbage bags like
goodness
if you’re tired of walking
walk backwards
REPLY GRACIOUSLY TO THE THING
i rip you to fibres
& knit a hat for my father
i weave you in my teeth
& feed you to my brood
my mother tells me to retain my mercy
to not forget grace but
i split you, stories
i papier
i mâcher, marcher
my tongue up & over your lips
up & over your teeth
up & over your frenulum
frisson / glisten
up & over & up & over
i have always moved quickly
lightning stagnation
when i spell your name wrong there is no-one to correct me
knit one more row
one more decrease
then prepare for crown
SEPTEMBER 10 2016
the lake stretched out
yawned and turned over
ochre / still, then –
holy, holy
the elk floated in
lily-pads & duck weed hung thick
their fur like unknown forests
the first elk bit my fingers
so i opened
[ i fear pain ]
then another and another
i opened, i opened
they stepped upon me
holy
they went upstairs
holy
they said their prayers
holy,
they slept
the final elk broke through the waters
bluelit, damp & steaming
[ still ]
i opened and felt
the click of completion
the glorious moment
when you cannot see the wrong
rhiannon collett is a queer-identified playwright & performer. she is the first artist to be commissioned out of nightswimming theatre’s 5×25 initiative. her first play, miranda & dave begin again, was shortlisted for the playwright’s guild of canada RBC emerging playwright award. rhiannon lives in montreal.