Iva Ticic: In the Beginning
Photo: Joanna C. Valente
The Genesis
In the beginning there was the gesture.
The girl kissed the boy and the boy
kissed her back.
The newborn baby latched on to its mother’s breast
and would not let go.
A coin was tossed in the center of the arena so the games
could begin.
Salome raised the hem of her tunic and tapped
her foot to dance.
Cesar turned his thumb down toward the dirt
under his sandals.
Moses raised his hands and the salty water
began to quiver.
Eve bit into the flesh of the apple
and the snake hissed.
6 AM
In the cold apartment, you shuffled sleepily, barefoot
across the wooden boards and toasted me bread
on a skillet, for lack of a toaster. There was no butter, either.
Then you boiled water and poured it through the French press,
letting time do its job, while you set up the table
a plain plate and a knife, two mismatching mugs.
So it was no wonder, that when I came out of the bathroom
wearing yesterday's clothes and freshly dabbed on mascara,
it smelled slightly like burn: Fuck, you observed and turned off the stove.
We sat at the table across from each other, me trying not to
feel ill, and to nibble at this thing you so thoughtfully cooked,
when outside your window it was still muggy and dark.
The way you looked at me then, in your fully zipped hoodie , propped elbows
on table -- I could have sworn you projected. Maybe your mother, maybe some empty
canvass you filled in – whatever it was had you staring, like I should be wearing
some sort of a crown.
But all I could think of was nausea. And there you were, looking so sweet. This wasn't
what I intended. I noticed the empty bottle of wine, felt the pulsating pricks
in my temples, all rhythmic. A Morse code to something that I was too ill
to release or decipher, pressing at me.
Iva Ticic is an international artist and teacher. She has lived in New York, USA and Guangzhou, China and is currently back in her home country of Croatia. Her preference in poetry is the intimate, the sensual, the musical and the brave. She has published one chapbook thus far, titled Alice in Greenpoint (Finishing Line Press, 2015). Find her on twitter @IvaHasWords
