A Poetry and Photography Showcase
Fall Edition, October 2009, Volume 9
Poetry by Elizabeth Kate Switaj
Crossing the Manhattan Bridge
his feet took the rhythm of the cables
that held up the metal
where his feet took the rhythm of the cables
only I stepped in shadow, stepped in shadow
of the cables
held up metal
where his feet took the rhythm of the cables
was all blue & the cables
that held up the metal
where his feet took the rhythm of the cables
were white
& together made the sky
blue & white
until an orange storm
came over my eyes
to rain brighter colors
from the pill he pushed into my eyes
like he pushed his gut against my spine
when he danced closer then I'd meant
when we got to Brooklyn
where we'd gone to dance
before the memorial
of war
Since receiving her MFA from the now-defunct New College of California Poetics Program in 2004, Elizabeth Kate Switaj has published Magdalene & the Mermaids (Paper Kite Press), Shanghai (Gold Wake Press), and The Broken Sanctuary: Nature Poems (Ypolita Press). She has written reviews for Feminist Review, Galatea Resurrects, Experimental Fiction & Poetry, and Mad Hatter's Review.
She has taught English in Chiryu and Ashikaga (Japan), the Dragon Lake Development Area of Zhengzhou (China), Brooklyn, and Seattle. While in Brooklyn, she also wrote online copy for a kimono retailer.
Elizabeth is currently researching James Joyce at Queen's University Belfast, and is a member of the editorial board of Gender Across Borders: