Sadie Dupuis: Calling It In
Photo: Joanna C. Valente
HORSE HAVEN ROAD
I declined to give my interview
atop the mound of sputum.
Why not highlight the sputum itself
I asked the reporter, sinking down
my gelatinous platform.
Schmoozing it up in the cytoplasm
I passed on the unpaid opportunity
to make marvels from this sick.
I cleared space for the gunk
and slime to enter me
to speak through me
to fill me up so huge
everyone would be forced to stare
at the goop-stuffed husk.
We charged five bucks for a mucosal postcard.
Ten for a kiss caked in bile.
This is how we grow the warmblood mountain.
Horses don’t have these concerns.
CALLING IT IN
Defeat the replies
Leave the junior room
You finally caught the ominous
and sideline your strangeness
Its size remains my fear
When the formant invades
Determined, alien, silver-mouthed
Sister behind the lunar screen
Your beau makes legendary vows
I let the kid speak for me
While the lookout continues
Banded to the phantom city
Where scampering streets meet the big moon
Unilaterally astronomers predict
these enemies are in for interception
Earths are trembling
Golf claps to high heaven
Viscous mirage revealing you
Suddenly, who must be new
Sadie Dupuis is the guitarist, vocalist & songwriter of rock band Speedy Ortiz. She's also the producer & multi-instrumentalist behind pop project Sad13. Sadie heads the record label Wax Nine, has written for outlets including Spin, Nylon, and Playboy, and holds an MFA in poetry from UMass Amherst. Mouthguard, her first book, was published in 2018 (Gramma/Black Ocean). Find her online @sad13.
