United States, (b. 1970)
Pig-In-A-Blanket
- I wake up, bound tightly.
- A warm, valerian smell cascades
- to my palate. I can only move
- my eyelids and toes.
- Heat sits impishly on my chest,
- at my throat, curtains of it brushing against me.
- Panic creeps out of my armpits.
- I can only move my eyelids and toes,
- and this constant fluttering
- lulls me to sleep.
- I awake late and move like a bee
- through the apartment,
- from station to station
- from the blue flame
- to the shimmering disc.
- From the stairs to the street,
- to the grocery store.
- To the meat aisle. To the cocktail wieners.
- To make pigs-in-a-blanket,
- to share them with friends.
- To sink into bed, to bind myself
- tightly in blankets, to flutter off into sleep,
- and then on past sleep,
- to be carried by admirers across a wooden bridge.
- Later I will burn this bridge.
About the Poet:
Matthew Rohrer, United States, (b. 1970), is a poet, editor and educator. He earned a BA from the University of Michigan and a MFA degree in poetry from the University of Iowa. He was a co-founder of Fence magazine and his poems have been widely anthologized and translated. One of Rohrer’s tattoos has appeared in two books of literary tattoos. He was co-founder and poetry editor for Fence magazine and now teaches at New York University.
Rohrer’s poems are known for their surreal imagery, imagination, and sharp humor. He is the author of more than nine books of poems. His first collection, A Hummock in the Malookas (1995), was selected by Mary Oliver for the National Poetry Series.
The recipient of a Pushcart Prize, Rohrer has published his work in The New Young American Poets: An Anthology (2000), The New American Poets: A Bread Loaf Anthology (2000), and Legitimate Dangers: American Poets of the New Century (2006).
His poems have been widely anthologized and have appeared in many journals. He’s received the Hopwood Award for poetry and a Pushcart prize, and was selected as a National Poetry Series winner, and was shortlisted for the Griffin International Poetry Prize. Rohrer has participated in residencies/performances at the Museum of Modern Art (New York City) and the Henry Art Gallery (Seattle). [DES-06/22]
Additional information:
- Matthew Rohrer’s Author Page at Wave books