The Size of a Bird

Clementine Morrigan

• Publisher: Inanna Poetry and Fiction Series
• Year: 2017
• Print ISBN:
  9781771334570
• eBook ISBN:
  9781771334587
• Topic: Literature
• Subtopic: Poetry
• Index: Literature

The Size of a Bird is an invocation of desire in times of violence and trauma. Refusing to shy away from difficult topics the poet tackles addiction, abuse, suicide, and sexual violence while infusing each word with a relentless drive for life. Seeking pleasure, these poems navigate dangerous terrain, staying with ambivalence and probing its depths. Queer femininity seeks heterosexual masculinity with varying results. First dates and one-night-stands, alleyways and coffee shops, forest floors and skateparks, these poems reveal a world pulsating with want and rife with pain. Holding both the reality of violence and the persistence of desire, these poems shine light on the pleasures and terrors of navigating sexuality from a space of femininity.

Contents

I: WRITE A PLACE FOR THE PAIN

Write a Place for the Pain

Dead Raccoon on the Highway

First Dates

Nothing to Do With Me

II: I COULD NOT SAY WHAT I FELT FOR YOU

Kathleen

Cheap Hotel Room

Swarm

You Already Know

The Night, My Own

Round

III: WILD HEARTS

Coe Hill, Toronto

Muses

Wild Hearts

Skate Park

Fuck It, Let’s Go to the Beach

IV: LIKE A BLADE

Lake

(E)strange(d)

Ellipsis

Third Wheel

Break Up

Liminality

Split

Like a Blade

V: THE SIZE OF A BIRD

The Size of a Bird

His Adoration

Ambivalence

Tangle of Veins

VI: INSISTENCE ON MAGIC

The Deep

The...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Copyright
• Title Page
• Also By
• Dedication
• Contents
• I. WRITE A PLACE FOR THE PAIN
• Write a Place for the Pain
• Dead Raccoon on the Highway
• First Dates
• Nothing to Do With Me
• II. I COULD NOT SAY WHAT I FELT FOR YOU
• Kathleen
• Cheap Hotel Room
• Swarm
• You Already Know
• The Night, My Own
• Round
• III. WILD HEARTS
• Coe Hill, Toronto
• Muses
• Wild Hearts
• Skate Park
• Fuck It, Let’s Go to the Beach
• IV. LIKE A BLADE
• Lake
• (E)strange(d)
• Ellipsis
• Third Wheel
• Break Up
• Liminality
• Split
• Like a Blade
• V. THE SIZE OF A BIRD
• The Size of a Bird
• His Adoration
• Ambivalence
• Tangle of Veins
• VI. INSISTENCE ON MAGIC
• The Deep
• The Crone on Her Bicycle
• Lavender
• Femmes in Motion
• Soaked
• Flight
• Sheela Na Gig
• Fireflies
• VII. NEVER ENOUGH
• Returning
• Poison
• Mountains on the Moon
• Mostly a Mess
• VIII. THE WORST THING
• Yellow Lines
• Furious Blue
• Sexy
• Key in Hand
• Rearview
• The Worst Thing
• Alleyway
• Queer Monstrosity
• IX. UNBROKEN
• Meat
• A Cup of Tea
• Love Is a Strategy, It Was All I Could Do
• Suicidal Ideation
• Acknowledgements
• About the Author