“What we own” by Marie Metaphor Specht

Poetry Pause is the League of Canadian Poets’ daily poetry dispatch. Read “What we own” by Marie Metaphor Specht.


What we own

By Marie Metaphor Specht

Lounging on a lover’s skin

I fit my ear into the small cavern

just below her breastbone.

She tells me someone died

at the construction site,

walked right off the job

but from a great height.

I place one hand over my other ear

to hear her voice vibrate through

viscera rather than air.

She says they are raising money

to send the body back home to Australia.

Returning the only thing

he ever really owned

to the land that birthed it.


Copyright © Marie Metaphor Specht

From Soft Shelters (Write Bloody North in 2023).

Marie Metaphor Specht is a multidisciplinary artist, poet, and educator living on the unceded territories of the Lək̓ʷəŋən- and SENĆOTEN-speaking peoples. A long-time member of the Canadian spoken word scene, she is currently serving a two-year term as the 6th Poet Laureate of Victoria, British Columbia. In addition to her independent practice, she has collaborated with filmmakers, lighting engineers, dancers, and musicians to create immersive and interactive works. Marie believes in the transformative power of this art form and has had the privilege of coaching and creating space for youth poets for nearly two decades.

Marie’s poetry has been published in Oratorealis, Untethered Magazine, Chestnut Review, The Hellebore, and Room Magazine, among others. Her debut poetry collection, Soft Shelters is out now with Write Bloody North Publishing (2023).


Subscribe to Poetry Pause, or support Poetry Pause with a donation today!