Paper

Posted on December 6, 2018 by John Biscello
Place a piece
of blank white paper
on a smooth hard surface.
Fill a glass of water.
Drink half the water,
pour the other half
onto the paper.
Savor the design it makes.
Get matches. Light a match.
Burn the edges of the paper,
making sure to inhale the sulfuric scent
of burning.
Draw a pair of lips
in the center of the page
(pencil suggested).
Kiss the lips,
then crumple the paper,
and bury it in your garden,
or if you don’t have a garden,
bury it in your neighbor’s garden,
or if you don’t have a neighbor,
or your neighbor is gardenless,
bury it in the park.
After the burial,
say a few words,
it doesn’t matter what they are,
and relish the fact
that your hands are dirty prayers.
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About John Biscello

Originally from Brooklyn, NY, novelist, poet, performer, playwright and filmmaker, John Biscello, has lived in the high-desert grunge-wonderland of Taos, New Mexico since 2001. He is the author of six novels, Broken Land, a Brooklyn Tale, Raking the Dust, Nocturne Variations, No Man’s Brooklyn, The Last Furies, and No One Dreams in Color; a collection of stories, Freeze Tag, two poetry collections, Arclight and Moonglow on Mercy Street; and a fable, The Jackdaw and the Doll, illustrated by Izumi Yokoyama. He also adapted classic fables, which were paired with the vintage illustrations of artist, Paul Bransom, for the collection: Once Upon a Time, Classic Fables Reimagined. His plays have been staged and performed both nationally and internationally.
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