rule of thirds/rule of threes
by Nora Smith
i. rule of thirds
my body half hives before
the screen test i’m only
going because your
photographer friend
said he likes my look
i am blown out, i have
smeared gold on my
eyelids every day since
i kissed the glitter off
her skin. every day
since the lie of my body
curled into the seeking
of hers.
ii. rule of threes
my editor reminds me to
leave space open in case
someone else important
dies today — it’s been an
actor, a director — maybe
a politician today to even
the score. people pass in
threes until they are dead
and missing by the dozens.
two fires this week. i can’t
help but notice that we don’t
leave space in case anyone
is found.
iii. the third stanza
how can i show you these
stories as mirrors on each
other. a building collapsed
earlier in the year and we
didn’t even talk about it.
all the music we danced to
from decades earlier when
believe it or not people were
still dying, in threes, in dozens.
in wars. a professor of media ethics
shows photos, asking, do you know
what happens to a body when it
hits the ground from that high up.
Nora Smith is a copy editor living in Pittsburgh. They are writing poems, making zines and feeling cautiously optimistic. Their work is upcoming in Door Is A Jar.
