The vertigo of looking up.
made to sit out a dance.
elegant as if she was still on the stairs.
Reminiscent of roses and almond.
A cento with thanks to Arthur Conan Doyle and his retelling of a ghost story in On The Unexplained.
No landlady would let rooms to him.
No dog would stay with him.
So no landlady would let rooms to him.
That no dog would stay with him.
Though no landlady would let rooms to him.
Yet he was pursued wherever else he went.
Not a dog would stay with him.
The Gods could conceive no lesser punishment.
No landlady would let him rooms!
Not even a dog would stay with him.
might consequently have come to it.
no one could ever translate for him.
whether there ever would be a miracle.
and naked, holding its arms out to him.
the infant's capacity to make a sound.
than the customary way of things.
has grown tired of chasing nymphs.
sphere of his once-powerful kingdom.
are each associated in equal yet unequal measure.
Michalle Gould's first full-length collection of poetry, Resurrection Party (Silver Birch Press, 2014), was a finalist in the Writers' League of Texas Book Awards. Its opening poem was adapted into a short film for the sixth season of the Motionpoems webseries. She lives in Hollywood, where she works as an academic librarian.