My Own Mire by Kate Russell

I am a dark comedy amok

sarcastic incongruity

of leftover situation

ships passed in the night

smokestack leavings

tinge the windows

blur the view outside

while inside remainders

cling to intestinal crevices

reminders of yesterday’s feast

where at the very least

I had to lick my fingers

before devouring the next 

course, echoes resound

ripples in distant memory

remember-when residue

honey drips over reasons

you left in the first place

recall the mingled sweat

sensual embrace distraction

attraction unbidden causes

obsessive vortex of thought

heart dips into repeat

beats an urgent pulse

flutters and sparks

potential enlightens

a sheen on the skim

reflective oil on skin

like Greek athletes we

stroke the depth

down the length

cross the width

learn each other’s

dimensional reality

for without gravity

the centrifugal act

of atomic particles

bonded by forces

beyond our imagining

we never step forward

even a destined foot to

unmuck from the mire

of our own intensity

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Kate Russell is a lifelong writer and poet of moments. Trained as a print journalist, she survived the media industry's narrative shift by focusing on local storytelling. Inspired by casual "open carpet" salons and the classic San Francisco poetry scene, she began a Poetry Party in Nottawa on Friday the 13th of October, 2023. It continues as a regular Poetry Night on the third Thursday of every month. Kate believes words have the power to reveal truth and reflect beauty. She is currently enjoying her literary role as the Town of Collingwood's Poet Laureate (2025-2028), where she holds “Poet in House” library drop-in hours on Wednesdays. Her book Hard Truth on a Bright Blue Day is available online through Ginger Press.

IG: @girlwithcarrotmarching