elizabeth iannaci
Talking with the Whale
Would you look into her eye, ask
if Melville got it right: that a fist
full of spermaceti cleanses you
of rage, the need for revenge? Is that
why whales are so forgiving:
corset & collar stays
hooped skirts
fishing rods
carriage springs
soap
varnish
afternoon-tea spoons
buggy whips
piano keys
baby teethers
typewriter springs
chess pieces
handles of walking sticks
rejuvenating cosmetics
oil for a bright, clear flame
all forgiven? Would you stand hoping
she sees that you want, more than breath,
to lean your whole self against her,
the timpani in your chest hammering
her wetsuit-slick skin. Might she
generously humor you, let you gentle
what you think is the spooked mare
of her, or would she turn as slowly
as she could (to not damage you)
dive away, slapping the water white
with the handlebars of her tail?
Love—A Tattoo on the Lining of the Heart
Step One
Someone said you, mine someone left a mark,
At first, a soot-covered thread pulled through the skin,
by a sliver of polished bone,
a pin, a ballpoint pen, and a guy’s initials,
a wing emerging from a red center, a love, a dove,
then a claw holding a scrolled Lola,
a big cat crafted, sand-colored, nestled
in the small of a back, a serpent over a shoulder,
vining up the curve of neck, lost in a shag
of hair. After some years you come
to understand it was the wrong tiger,
not your Celtic knot, a stranger’s
cursive initial in the center of a Valentine.
Step Two
To fade the tattoo, try rubbing a salt solution
into it. Scrape away or sand down the skin.
Freeze- burn the area with liquid nitrogen.
Laser-removal may feel as though you’re being pelted,
with hot grease, sound like bacon frying.
Throw kerosene on it and light a match.
When it heals, the tattoo should be gone,
but there may be scars. Fluorescent colors—
purples, greens are nearly impossible to be rid of—
the bigger, brighter, the harder to erase.
Step Three
When the scars settle, the skin
faded enough, think hard,
take measurements, dig deep,
make drawings. Start with black & white;
add colors: burnt sienna, naranja, scarlet.
when you get the image exactly right,
set the paper on fire
over the bathroom sink. Use the ashes
to smear a charcoal shadow
from the canthus edge upward
above the lid, deepening
your eyes’ natural hollow.
Widely published and anthologized, elizabeth iannaci shares a birthday with Red China, Julie Andrews, Jimmy Carter and the anniversary of Roger Maris’s 61st home run. Raised in Southern California, she’s never been on a surfboard. She once hitchhiked from California to Florida with her then husband, along the way getting a ride from a geezer who hocked his teeth for bottle of whiskey. Elizabeth has worn various diverse hats from chicken wrangler to Music Industry publicist, to Marilyn Monroe look-alike. She holds an MFA in Poetry from VCFA and still writes letters on paper that are delivered by humans.
