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Zone 3 Press, the literary magazine of Austin Peay State University
Volume 39, Issue 1
Volume 39, Issue 1

Squid

  • By Mary Meriam 
I lost my body in deserted seas,  
its curves, its strength, its feel, its fleet of ships.  
Now I have barnacles instead of knees,  
a mouth of water, jellyfish for lips. 
But I am not a man, so make me over. 
I lost my body in a sea of fits, 
and mines of lead embraced me like a lover. 
I sucked on soul and iridescent pits.  
The sailors said to jump, and so I did,  
in shark waves, seaweed tides, pink albatross 
and moonless drowning. Save me from the squid! 
Its ink is body-blotting me like moss 
choking a tree. I am a pointless pen. 
I lost my body in the seas of men.

About Mary Meriam

Mary Meriam studied poetry at Columbia University (MFA) and Bennington College (BA). She works as an editor and publisher of lesbian poetry and art, and teaches in the MFA program at the University of Arkansas. Her most recent poetry collection is Pools of June (Exot Books, 2022). Her poems have appeared in Literary Imagination, Literary Matters, Poetry, Post Road, Prelude, Rattle, Subtropics, and The Poetry Review.

Zone 3 Press, the literary magazine of Austin Peay State University
Volume 39, Issue 1
Volume 39, Issue 1

Squid

  • By Mary Meriam 
I lost my body in deserted seas,  
its curves, its strength, its feel, its fleet of ships.  
Now I have barnacles instead of knees,  
a mouth of water, jellyfish for lips. 
But I am not a man, so make me over. 
I lost my body in a sea of fits, 
and mines of lead embraced me like a lover. 
I sucked on soul and iridescent pits.  
The sailors said to jump, and so I did,  
in shark waves, seaweed tides, pink albatross 
and moonless drowning. Save me from the squid! 
Its ink is body-blotting me like moss 
choking a tree. I am a pointless pen. 
I lost my body in the seas of men.
Volume 39, Issue 1
Volume 39, Issue 1

Squid

  • By Mary Meriam 
I lost my body in deserted seas,  
its curves, its strength, its feel, its fleet of ships.  
Now I have barnacles instead of knees,  
a mouth of water, jellyfish for lips. 
But I am not a man, so make me over. 
I lost my body in a sea of fits, 
and mines of lead embraced me like a lover. 
I sucked on soul and iridescent pits.  
The sailors said to jump, and so I did,  
in shark waves, seaweed tides, pink albatross 
and moonless drowning. Save me from the squid! 
Its ink is body-blotting me like moss 
choking a tree. I am a pointless pen. 
I lost my body in the seas of men.

About Mary Meriam

Mary Meriam studied poetry at Columbia University (MFA) and Bennington College (BA). She works as an editor and publisher of lesbian poetry and art, and teaches in the MFA program at the University of Arkansas. Her most recent poetry collection is Pools of June (Exot Books, 2022). Her poems have appeared in Literary Imagination, Literary Matters, Poetry, Post Road, Prelude, Rattle, Subtropics, and The Poetry Review.

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