Sally Bliumis-Dunn: That Night
like a cage lit by moon in a darkness held at bay
beyond this room where the loud chandelier
lit us as though on a stage where we act our rawest selves
Sally Bliumis-Dunn: Women’s Voices
…when Margaret Thatcher took voice-
lowering lessons, she was told
to speak as if she had a penis and a cold.
Sally Bliumis-Dunn: Week One
She is fine like a ringlet of fiddlehead fern
before it unfurls in the summer forest
Sally Bliumis-Dunn: Ouija
my palm beneath your palm
along the arc of your pregnant belly
as though my hand were the planchette
on a Ouija board
Sally Bliumis-Dunn: The Milkmaid
And what luxury of looking,
knowing that you won’t be seen
by the milkmaid,
gaze fixed upon her task,
her eyes downcast
beneath a crisp white cap
Sally Bliumis-Dunn: Biology Lesson
I thought I’d be bored
looking at the slide but instead
felt unsettled, as though
something had been taken
Sally Bliumis-Dunn: Purple Carrot
These are lonely times.
No sweetness lingers on the tongue
from this carrot’s purple flesh.
Sally Bliumis-Dunn: Diminution
Did she believe—she did, I think— the right
cliché could save us, help us not to feel
alone, so many bees in that same hive—
spilt milk, sow’s ear, Achilles heel.
Sally Bliumis-Dunn: Ode to Autumn
this is where I can
still see you
in these gray branches
Video: Dances with Whales
French freediving champion Guillaume Néry, and his partner, the French freediver, underwater filmmaker and dancer Julie Gautier, explore underwater vistas that appear otherworldly.
Sally Bliumis-Dunn: Beaked Whales Should Not Be Spotted Near a Coast
Low tide and all we hear
is the whale’s terrible breathing,
its body drying out
Video: Why do whales sing?
This short animated film, produced by Stephanie Sardelis of the Ripley’s Aquarium of Canada, decodes the evocative melodies composed by the world’s largest mammals.
Sally Bliumis-Dunn: Sea Turtles Mating
To be amazed at her luck
or pity her trials
Sally Bliumis-Dunn: Quahogue
I knocked
and you showed me the letter
from your father who left when you were five.
