Listening to Sharon Olds Copyright © Colin Whyles 2009

Reading by Jen Overett

Listening to Sharon Olds
you hear the blade upon the bone
a surgical incision made
precision filleting away the fat
to leave the lean raw on the plate
unbloodied, cleansed of ordure's dross
no trail to where the knife began
no clue to where the life has gone
a sterile plate instead of streets
instead of fields
instead of streams
supports the nakedness of meat
whose challenge is
to face the truth