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Face-lift
Had to do with legs, of course.
The over-lap was ugly here.
It was the flesh of difference.
Winnowed by your eyes alone,
I saw myself in blackened mirrors.
Pills and doctors. Meaning well.
Slice a leg and sew a scar.
Do it over once again.
Arrogance and ignorance.
Symptomatic platitudes.
Didn't know what souls could do.
To you I am a rash of sorts.
I am missing crucial parts.
But you were ill in attitude.
I have simple common sense.
Not purple mountain majesty
of very tragic skies indeed.
Strength and rainbows.
Well, they fade.
Waterways of gutted pride.
Spare-change limbs you rearranged.
A booster-shot for resumes,
you pass me over nets of dreams
as volleyballs across a court
with missions counting famous points.
All the tribulation here.
Waterlines and undertows
of falling tears you never see.
They're innocent but acetone.
They're tied to how you treat my bones
like worms that lose a chunk of self
and somehow still survive.
Janet Buck is the author of four collections of poetry. Her work has appeared in CrossConnect, Zang Spur Review,
Pif Magazine, The Dakota House Journal, The Melic Review, Stirring, Countless Horizons, Ascent, Tapestry, The Rose & Thorn,
Avatar Review, pith, Perihelion, In Motion, OffCourse, and hundreds of journals world-wide. In the year 2000,
Janet was of ten U.S. poets to be featured at the "One Heart, One World" Exhibit at the United Nations Exhibit Hall in New York City.
Her poem "Acrylic Thighs" was translated into five languages and paired with original artwork. The tour traveled to France,
Australia, Vietnam, Brazil, and Japan. In 2001-2002, Buck's poetry is scheduled to appear in PoetryBay, The Montserrat Review,
Runes, The Pedestal Magazine, Concrete Wolf, The Carriage House Review, Swagazine, PoetryRepairShop, Slow Trains,
Verse Libre Quarterly, Wicked Alice, Facets, Southern Ocean Review, Artemis, The American Muse, and The Pittsburgh Quarterly.
Recent awards include The H.G. Wells Award for Literary Excellence, First Place in Kimera's Poetry Contest 2001, Editor's
Choice Award for Sol Magazine, and the 2001 Kota Press Anthology Prize. In 2001, Janet's poem "The Teapoy" was nominated
for a Pushcart Prize by The Pedestal Magazine. Janet Buck is a three-time Pushcart Nominee and the author of four collections
of poetry. Her work has recently appeared in Three Candles, Red River, Pierian Springs, Stirring, PoetryBay, Offcourse,
Ascent, The American Muse, and hundreds of journals world-wide. In 2002-2003 Buck's poetry is scheduled to appear in Zuzu's
Petals Quarterly, Mississippi Review, Gin Bender, Artemis, The Montserrat Review, Recursive Angel, The Foliate Oak, Southern
Ocean Review, The Pedestal Magazine, Coelacanth, Cordite, CrossConnect, and The Oklahoma Review.
Email: Janet Buck
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