My Phone Autocorrects “Fucking to “Ducking.”
by Dante Clark
—after Karisma Price
I don’t know if there’s a part of my body more eager than my thumbs.
Granted, my legs, fast as they are. Especially once I’ve seen a you up text
after the sun’s abided by its nightly curfew. I’m down to duck.
Typed and sent quicker than a proofread. Duck it. A typo is my friend
who says it wrong but means well. I get it. And you do too, as I
spell it out in thirst masquerading as words. There’s no cup
tall enough to pour the alphabet of this want. And who to drink,
better than you? Granted, my tongue, dry unless you’re near me.
My duck buddy. My bedroom, living room, kitchen counter pet.
When we duck in front of the mirror our reflections wish
they could feel the other side. Granted, the glass, where the touch
stops in a trap we wish to never leave. Oh the right there’s,
and the don’t stop’s that have been carried by our thin walls.
This home is made of hands. This home is made of bad words
that mean good things. I’m ducking serious. I’m ducking you
while you choke me. While I choke you. So who’s ducking who?
A couch is not a bed but it can be if I tuck you in it.
A chaise lounge is not a couch, but, you get the point.
Duck me til the night grows tired of standing over our room.
Duck me til the windows taste the salt of our wet.
This home is made of mouths. Granted, they don’t always speak.
But sometimes, they bite.
Dante Clark (he/him) is a writer, musician, and actor from the Bronx, NY where he's usually waxing poetic about grief, fart jokes and wine (what a combination). A two-time Pushcart nominee, his work has been featured in The Root, Afropunk, wildness, Brooklyn Poets’ Poet of the Week, The Slowdown, and elsewhere. Clark graduated from Hunter College with a BA in creative writing and he has the student loan debt to prove it. He’s performed his poetry at venues like the Nuyorican Poets Cafe, the Bowery Poetry Club, The Montauk Club, and his living room (much to the chagrin of his downstairs neighbors). Clark’s also received support from organizations including Catapult, Cave Canem, and In Surreal Life where he served as a co-fellow for the 2021 sessions. Along with wanting to free the land, Dante just wants to create in a world where all his homies can prosper.