Marcia LeBeau

Growing a New Pair

This is the poem that should begin my book
of poems. It should be digestible, readable,
and agreeable, in order not to scare people away
from the start. It should reveal something about how
I’m vulnerable, but not so vulnerable as to be pathetic,
and then allude to an action of mine which exhibits
audacity. This instance should be ballsy enough
to have the reader immediately flip to back of the book
to inspect my author photo to see whether I’m attractive
enough to be that confident. I, in turn, should be just
that striking in said photo to not confuse people into
thinking that this is just some kind of fuckin’ persona
poem and then I would instantly remove fuckin’
because that would show that I’m altogether too angry
or too young or trying too hard, which I obviously am,
but at least I’d be admitting it instead of chomping
on the end of a pen hard enough to elicit an erudition
I don’t possess. And then I’d remember that there could
be a scholar reading this poem, which could potentially
endanger the life of the piece, creating a huge hesitation
in its writing, which until this point had been a revision
of key stroke, key stroke, key stroke. And at that point it
would be just about time to stop this opening poem
because any more self-indulgence and some would not
go on. Whatever the case, there will be quite a few who
will have stopped before they get to this line and to them
I say—nothing, as they are gone.




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Marcia LeBeau has been published in decomP magazinE, Moon City Review, Rattle, SLANT, Pennsylvania English, and others. She holds an MFA in poetry from the Vermont College of Fine Arts’ creative writing program. Marcia lives in South Orange, New Jersey. www.marcialebeau.com