I dreamt they claimed my left shoulder away,
yet my arm remained joined, the hinge
a thing I could not bear
I only knew of it, so my mind sketched
me within the altered space
rearranged
Yet I perceive it, and I perceive it again as I speak
I’d prefer not to discuss it, yet
it feels pertinent, perhaps
Like the moment when the day donned a costume
to convey this to you
in sequins
And as it altered, it faced away from the glass
even shielding itself when gliding before the mirror
as if its reflection kept some force
that could step out as the thing itself,
the night
__________________________________
Excerpted from The Channel: Poems. © 2026 Jana Prikryl. Reprinted with the publisher’s permission, W. W. Norton & Company, Inc. All rights reserved.
