Issue 23, Summer '10

3 Poems

by Carol Dorf • • Issue 12 • 10.01.2007

Holiday Season: Playing Dictionary

(for TD)

peregrinate
verjuice
               Alternate mingle of the solstice
               party. That sweet drink would distract

pomphloyx
crambe
               from endless winter sleet. The way
               beneath our waterproof shells we contract—

tensor
ovate
               but this is a party, coats hanging up
               in the shower, velvet and sequins, black

metol
fildor
               shine or gold shimmer. Our hostess lovely
               in a white silk slip. There are no cracks

halomancy
outlope
               in the shiny tiles to frighten someone's
               mother. The end of the evening has begun

sejunge
obconical
               to frighten me, and Dictionary doesn't
               distract enough. The appearance of fun

recision
unguent
               and another kiss to shroud this sullen night
               for how old we all look by candlelight.

continue: 1 2 3

Carol Dorf

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Carol Dorf’s work has been published in Runes, Five Fingers Review, Edgz, Caprice, New Verse News, Feminist Studies, The NeoVictorian, and elsewhere. She has taught in a variety of venues—as a California Poet in the Schools, at Lawrence Hall of Science, and at a large urban high school. She lives with two cats, one husband, and one child.