by Rochelle Owens
When the world’s
most trusted deceptions
like a parasitic plant
its mouth parts opening closing
Oh song of green leaves and stems
its mouth parts closing opening
Oh song of moisture and tears
of mucus membranes and canker sores
Oh forgiving child of my animal soul
Oh bleeding child
of my effervescent blood
Your blood is the blood of the Lamb
Sweet deaf boys donkey boys
monkey girls
little lambs of the Unholy See
lambs of ME and MY body
Your blood is the blood of the Lamb
Oh hovering winged creatures
Behold the Lord’s Supper
under sacramental robes
Your blood is the blood of the Lamb
Oh grasping thirsty angels
angels of vengeance and repentance
angels of muteness and the Holy Secret
sweet deaf boys
Your blood is the blood of the Lamb
For the sake of my sorrowful passion
for the sake of my effervescent blood
for the sake of my spasm and orgasm
for the sake of my salt and vinegar
Your blood is the blood of the Lamb
For the sake of my ecstasy
and giggling rapture
for the sake of your Holy Rape
and sphincter muscle
for the sake of my Animal Soul
Oh forgiving child
Your blood is the blood of the Lamb
Rochelle Owens is the author of eighteen books of poetry and plays, the most recent of which are Plays by Rochelle Owens (Broadway Play Publishing, 2000) and Luca, Discourse on Life and Death (Junction Press, 2001). A pioneer in the experimental off-Broadway theatre movement and an internationally known innovative poet, she has received Village Voice Obie awards and honors from the New York Drama Critics Circle. Her plays have been presented worldwide and in festivals in Edinburgh, Avignon, Paris, and Berlin. Her play Futz, which is considered a classic of the American avant-garde theatre, was produced by Ellen Stewart at LaMama, directed by Tom O’Horgan and performed by the LaMama Troupe in 1967, and was made into a film in 1969. A French language production of Three Front was produced by France-Culture and broadcast on Radio France. She has been a participant in the Festival Franco-Anglais de Poésie, and has translated Liliane Atlan’s novel Les passants, The Passersby (Henry Holt, 1989). She has held fellowships from the NEA, Guggenheim, Rockefeller, and numerous other foundations. She has taught at the University of California, San Diego and the University of Oklahoma and held residencies at Brown and Southwestern Louisiana State.
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