“The World Traveler”

Here are the snapshots from Horor Vacui
That’s me jumping off a cliff!
That’s me throwing a lit match in a forest of drought!
That’s me standing in the rain with a lightning rod!

Of course, all of these are doubly exposed.

Oh, Look, Here I am, trying to take a steak from a Doberman.
Oh Look, Here’s a cute one; me taking a poke with boxing gloves at the local heavyweight.

I’m alive and well in Horor Vacui.
I have no time for visitors.
There is always a flurry of excitement.

Sometimes,

it is so quiet, I can hear,

my vertebrae connecting.

—Ina Chadwick Wilde, “The World Traveler”
(image Bloodpool by Kiki Smith)