Selections from The Sonnets I

by Karina Bush

Sonnet I

Chest fur helix deep—sought as in blindness

My bed when I get the sickness in mind

Psychosomatic—shriveled feminine

He makes me useless as an imbecile

Visions—suck on his sweat—it turns into

Wine in my mouth—transubstantiation

My core absorbs his rhythm—I go like

The worn Theresas agape in sculpture

Begging from the blackness of the old pit

Where sweat could pool if we could show restraint

A fountain to wash in and drink plenty

Lie like plastic beauties from the future

If we didn’t wail and scare them away

Or prefer to be wound up almost high

Sonnet VIII

Close to sleep, my misery shows herself

She dilates, distends, she’s an excessive

All-knowing organism—a pusher

She’s my best friend, she’s inexhaustible

The pusher for relief—and who is who?

The sense is lost—I’m her—I ask myself

To break myself, and so I tear into

Trembling paradise where the fabric

Of reality splits open, drips sex

Sick memory kisses and projections

Summer warm and alive with the purpose

And I get all the attention I need

And he says the nice things to me again

Says his very best, right into the lapse

Sonnet X

None of this is about you, nor love, no

It's my pitiful pride, a stone I hold

That I am not the alpha, Arian

That I haven't won the competition

I employed every tactic of war

Ranging from reconnaissance to displays

To firepower—all fucking wasted

And it hurts, it hurts just like heartache must

Duped by substanceless, peacock energy

Massaging a festering appendix

To come out the loser, there's nothing worse

Examining all the dead potency

These permanent stains are all over me

None of this is about you, never was

BIO: Karina Bush is an Irish writer and artist who lives in Italy. She is the author of five books with the most recent being the controversial novella FOURTH INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION SLUT. Karina’s work has also been featured by Tangerine Press, the LA Review of Books, Akashic Books, Fugitives & Futurists, the International Poetry Studies Institute, etc. She is also CEO of DeepSNAKES, the world’s only AI literary platform. Visit: karinabush.com for more.