Undressed

by Phil Hall                                                                                                                  

This year’s escape      is to the west coast

BC      Victoria      a sojourn alone      at Mile 0
the stink of the shore      & an empty fridge      like in 79

3 months      the pens I brought      are still writing
I’m surprised      they are cheap pens      grabbed in a hurry
I’ve only had to throw one out      Park Town Hotel

it’s true I’m not using them obsessively      or maybe I am
what I write      in my Chinese notebook from John’s Convenience
is mostly a record of the weather      not so great

I’m OK      sad      a friend back home is dying
I don’t have many poems to show for my time here
though it seems an achievement      this morning

to trust enough ink is left      to take on the past tense
the pens I brought     suited me      & the journey
I had 3 sisters      was married 3 times

& had 3 children      seminal / aortal / connubial
was abused      had an early hernia operation
a late circumcision      the vasectomy

was in love 7 times      no      8
my violence / was silence      to disappear      I drank
bottomed      & reappeared      contrapuntal

I undressed my mouth
at the intersection of Niagara & Government

My insides are not where I’m from originally