The beast gouges
unblemished copper
and a gorgon
is born – the mirror,
the beast’s own image
on burnished gorgeousness.
Antonyms in
violent etchings
flow into the other’s meaning
and between them
where they press
together
knowledge arises
in the sign’s negative.
Oh rose!
(Let’s call this
“structure”.) The world
is sick.

Andrew Nightingale (@andrenothingale) is currently working on a group of poems about the Anatomical Venus. His poems have recently appeared in Ink Sweat & Tears and Street Cake. Pamphlets are available in print or online from publishers that include Shearsman and Knives Forks and Spoons. He lives in St Leonards-on-Sea in the UK and works for an animal welfare charity.