Boxed, but Not Labeled by Jude Marr

inside every head, a sculpture: stranger

than art, the mind is not contained: bony boxes

offer protection, but magic is in

the eye: as sparks fly, synapse to synapse, bone becomes

transparent: our movies play, image after

image: our circuitry is not

a closed system: we watch our minds

change: we watch thought—

 

                                                  don’t stop thinking—

                                                  don’t let smoke fill the box: don’t

                                                  stop—

 

magic is boxed: from Pandora’s

myth, to Schrodinger’s paradox, magic depends

upon a hasp without a padlock—

 

                                                 don’t break the spell—

 

eyes tight shut, we see in our mind’s eye—cat’s coat

staring: cat’s ears curved, like small sails

in a stiff wind: cat’s paws

already stiffening—

 

inside my head, a cat’s cradle: can you see

me, among my tangled wires?

                                                 am I

                                                 an installation?

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Jude Marr teaches, and writes poetry, as protest. They are the author of the chapbook Breakfast for the Birds (Finishing Line, 2017). Other recent credits include Ghost City, Weatherbeaten, and five:2:one. For more on Jude’s work, or to buy their book, go to www.judemarr.com, or follow @JudeMarr1 on Twitter.