Poems Niederngasse
Rachel Mallino
Borges and His Mirrors

This house is long and narrow
like his mouth. He reads me
Borges - a story about a crazed
doctor and his willing student.
There is gold, faith and ash;
a test that follows and someone fails.

We are silent in our sharing.
Later, he kisses my lips
and calls me perfect.

I return home, distance stretches
between us like early morning fog.
There's a hole in my pocket wider
than his opened mouth and my shoes
smell of sulfur. If only my lips
would moisten.

round I, poem 3, July 1

Rachel Mallino has been published in the Literati Review,
Saucyvox.com Review and NPAC. She won second place in the April 2003  Net Poetry and Art Competition, and has moderated numerous online poetry forums. Rachel has been dreaming poetry since the age of 13, and is regularly inspired by other poets such as Charles Bukowski,  Sylvia Plath, Jim Carroll and Marge Piercy. Currently, Rachel lives in South Florida with her daughter and kitty cat.
Email:  Rachel Mallino