Measure

She’s got a 22 inch waist

An 35 mm neck warm to the touch

the stage is 12 x 12 and doll houses

never have enough rooms

a pinch is less than a millimeter

you are four inches shorter than you were

standing on your toes shaving shame

anorexics cannot compare themselves

pounds to kilo like bags of soft fruit afraid to rot

the human body used to provide basis for units of length

in Europe I was measured with altered tape

from metric to imperial and back again

pound, ounce, yard, foot, gallon, pint, inch

the mile ached over the acre and what

of the hector?

without metric equivalent, the renegades

convicted of offenses under Weights & Measures law

Metric Martyrs for a new century

disputed from afar (how far?)

here my feet are two sizes bigger

no bras for narrow backs exist in

the American Mid-West

in Malaysia my hair is blonde

in Japan they bleach out freckles

in Denmark I’m a short brunette

at night you look like a hallelujah

surrounded in magnolias

your beautiful cider heat

testifies truth

years are not weightless

sorrow heaviest

joy profits as clouds open

decide

your own measurement