AMANUENSIS
by Nick Flynn
If you write about
painting yourself into a corner
then one day you might find your-
self, in
fact, painted into a
corner. Or you might find
yourself on the edge of a
cliff, or maybe facedown on
the carpet in a white
white room. Why not, then, try
to write yourself out, into
a field, say, or
onto a country road, or
kneedeep in a river that might or
must open into the sea—if you
write it out the words could become
clear, not blurry, no, like
that photograph of your mother—
calm, looking straight
into the you you are now
as she holds onto the you you were
as you both play-struggle
against her . . .
Nick Flynn is the author of the poetry collections My Feelings (Graywolf Press, 2015), The Captain Asks for a Show of Hands (Graywolf Press, 2011), Blind Huber (Graywolf Press, 2002), and Some Ether (Graywolf Press, 2000), which was the recipient of the PEN/Joyce Osterweil Award.
Rachel Eliza Griffiths is a poet and visual artist. Her most recent collection of poetry is Lighting the Shadow (Four Way Books 2015). Currently, Griffiths teaches creative writing at Sarah Lawrence College and lives in Brooklyn.