Four Poems|Jennifer MacBain-Stephens
The Same Dark
from one end
of the world
to the other
the same story
told at midnight
fists on cheeks
It’s hard on soft
Hey baby
twelve hours until blue eyes
This is a found poem. Text from Rice, Anne. Exit to Eden. New York: Harper Collins, 1985. Print. Page 139.
A String that Pulled Me
lower into the depths
of a labyrinth
bits and pieces
what was hell really?
other than scrubbing
away at people’s center
an expert massages
my panic away
consumes all that is pretty and Victorian
wears white lace
says good luck
there isn’t any “girl” in it
I felt caged by Renoir
just a giant open-faced palm
it’s not pretty
to be
on the verge of bolting
I can’t bear this
ripped animal that I’ve become
a deceptive rag doll
flung wide into a phantom life
This is a found poem. Text from Rice, Anne. Exit to Eden. New York: Harper Collins, 1985. Print. Pages 140-153.
Back and Forth
a race directs us to
an hourglass game
the second ball retrieves
an elegant heaven
wet applause
around the fence enclosure
the fifth ball
is all want for each other
push it, pull it out of shape
this little struggle
clears the finish line
on hands and knees
you say nasty things to me
I melt luscious
flustered and pink
and polished muscle
lap up the attention left and right: a lighted stage
never disappears
a gladiator positions a final blow
the New York Times
over my head
I think I’ll go home
win, alone
half hating my eyebrows coming together
right off the bus
This is a found poem. Text from Rice, Anne. Exit to Eden. New York: Harper Collins, 1985. Print. Pages165-171.
He takes the shape
of his hands for granted
reads Russian novels
a square jawed Marlboro man
burns a tolerable judge
by French torch
you know damned well
he makes smart cracks
said he was scared of me
I never believe in better
than the others
in love
and a flood of white energy
kissing in the back of a Chevy
is a three-round stage,
tie on a blindfold
drink in hand
wearing white mink
fifty percent show
turning his head to “get it”
nine o clock or five o clock
it doesn’t matter
in a dark red flush
burn out the circuits
a triple crawl back
that’s dream stuff
Girls, patch up your
enemy
This is a found poem. Text from Rice, Anne. Exit to Eden. New York: Harper Collins, 1985. Print. Pages 172-182.
Photo by John Silliman on Unsplash
Bio
Jennifer MacBain-Stephens went to NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts and now lives in Iowa where she likes to rock climb. She is the author of four full length poetry collections and twelve chapbooks. Her chapbook “Teeth Have a Hardness Scale of 5,” is forthcoming from Sputnik and Fizzle Press. Recent work can be seen at or is forthcoming from The Pinch, Cleaver, Yalobusha Review, Zone 3, and Grist. She also hosts an indie reading series sponsored by the non-profit organization Iowa City Poetry called Today You Are Perfect. Find her online at http://jennifermacbainstephens.com/.
