Poem
Heather Phillipson
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Who concocts the smellof dogs which smells like
an extreme close-up
of the world oozing
in at the edges.
Full as an ice-cube is full of liquid.
I mistook it for solidity.
The world is too full of smells.
Though it’s impossible
to see the top of it
they crawl between my legs
in the shimmering fuzz
on top of the plant
stickers of evenings
tongues held out
pocket-friendly air-fresheners
strikes on our nostrils.
They come at me streaming.
Why the dog? Why not
the dog? Was it only a dream
of soil heating held
and stimulated
for his unique aroma.
It’s not a way in
but it places you somewhere
that smells strong
and looks strong leaving
behind us. Hi.
© 2016, Heather Phillipson
From: more flinching
Publisher: Previously exhibited at the Whitechapel Gallery, London
From: more flinching
Publisher: Previously exhibited at the Whitechapel Gallery, London
Heather Phillipson
(United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, 1978)
Heather Phillipson is an internationally-acclaimed poet and multi-media artist. Her work is challenging and inviting; combining bold aesthetics with complex questions. Her 2009 pamphlet, Faber New Poets 3, was followed in 2012 by NOT AN ESSAY (Penned in the Margins). Instant-flex 718 (Bloodaxe, 2013) was shortlisted for the 2013 Fenton Aldeburgh First Collection Prize and the Michael Murphy Mem...
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Poems of Heather Phillipson
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Who concocts the smellof dogs which smells like
an extreme close-up
of the world oozing
in at the edges.
Full as an ice-cube is full of liquid.
I mistook it for solidity.
The world is too full of smells.
Though it’s impossible
to see the top of it
they crawl between my legs
in the shimmering fuzz
on top of the plant
stickers of evenings
tongues held out
pocket-friendly air-fresheners
strikes on our nostrils.
They come at me streaming.
Why the dog? Why not
the dog? Was it only a dream
of soil heating held
and stimulated
for his unique aroma.
It’s not a way in
but it places you somewhere
that smells strong
and looks strong leaving
behind us. Hi.
From: more flinching
23
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