Out! (a response to Things To Do In the Belly)

by Iole Damaskinos

Large open longing
Wide
Like the mouth of the whale
Who swallowed me
No matter how Miraculous
It still feels like a cage
“No man could survive being stuck in a whale
anymore than they could survive being held underwater”
Except, this Woman can.
The necessary destruction of cutting open
Are they demons or angels, the spirits wielding knives?
The rearranging of organic matters
That once worked to constitute
A life
“No man could survive being stuck in a whale
anymore than they could survive being held underwater”
So yes,
The rearranging must
As I hold my breath
Curled in a ball
Praying for the demonic angels
To complete their work
Of birthing me
A second crashing
Out of matter into Light
Tipping the scales
Weightily
Because at night
Choosing
Is all there is.

Things to Do in the Belly of the Whale

by Dan Albergotti

Measure the walls. Count the ribs. Notch the long days.
Look up for blue sky through the spout. Make small fires
with the broken hulls of fishing boats. Practice smoke signals.
Call old friends, and listen for echoes of distant voices.
Organize your calendar. Dream of the beach. Look each way
for the dim glow of light. Work on your reports. Review
each of your life's ten million choices. Endure moments
of self-loathing. Find the evidence of those before you.
Destroy it. Try to be very quiet, and listen for the sound
of gears and moving water. Listen for the sound of your heart.
Be thankful that you are here, swallowed with all hope,
where you can rest and wait. Be nostalgic. Think of all
the things you did and could have done. Remember
treading water in the center of the still night sea, your toes
pointing again and again down, down into the black depths.