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Human expression is never orderly.
​It is a space of disruption.To let ourselves express means to be vulnerable.​It means to invert syntax so as to articulate the visceral. 




​​​The Fissured Tongue Series 

Picture"The Thundershower (study for painting)" by H. Lyman Saÿen; tempera, pencil and printed paper on paperboard; 21 3/4 x 27 3/4 in.; ca. 1916; open source from the Smithsonian American Art Museum
Two poems

Where It Dissolves

​Unplaceably There
​
Matthew Burkett 

​Where It Dissolves
 
 
round & dry               a crumb of industry               capsid
Monte Carlo platelets half-peel bending back dendrites
the  pill               front porch statuary of electrical abuse
a  compromised  landscape         unfolded  in  the  body
            whose          veins       are    a    form   being  filled
grit            in the occipital lobe       in the well of marrow
over and over soporific bureaucracy of the indexed self
mandatory media     only visible       to those who suffer
the unreal        the gashes           come in checkbox form
calendars  crossruled  with  byproduct     pollution gaze 
repetition invoked          to assuage catalogical disorder
dizziness & collapses on the bathroom tile    sulcal zaps
the lethargy               means it’s working                   relax
​Unplaceably There
 
It can never quite be placed        it drifts       red blur           so
in integument tectonics        bourdon                 and suspense
passing by       a tidy doppler       thins      blood its caricature
 
[one evening i saw a dead mockingbird in a supermarket parking lot
 a stiff gummy wing raised up on a balding mast slide on the asphalt
 propelled along  by the gusts of the  outer band of a  tropical storm
 flight that shuddered with basal friction with erratic jolts with skids
 and unmotivated clinamens  leaving behind  unnamable fragments
 scattering bird bits  at twice the speed  of the tottering bird clump]
 
the nurses wrap us up                              rough draft mummies
brouillons au lieu des brouillages                  not understanding
the way it       drifts          gone        a mothwing muddy mauve
 
[i can’t say why but i started to yell at it with hope too much hope]
About the Author

Matthew Burkett lives in Waltham, Massachusetts.  In the precious time when he's not researching for his PhD candidacy exam or teaching writing classes, he is writing his first collection of poetry.​
​
About the Work

"These poems are an attempt to express schizophrenia, not necessarily from a first person perspective but through language, industry, the social, and space. In the past year, my writing has been inspired by music (such as Salvatore Sciarrino), languages, and specialized discourse."
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  • The Fissured Tongue Series
    • Fissured Tongue Volume 6
    • Fissured Tongue Volume 5
    • Fissured Tongue Volume 4
    • Fissured Tongue Volume 3
    • Fissured Tongue Volume 2
    • Fissured Tongue Volume 1
    • Online Issue One
    • Online Issue Two
  • Submission Guidelines
    • The Fissured Tongue Series Guide
    • POETRY BOOK CONTESTS
  • Poetry Contest Results
    • 2024 POETRY BOOK CONTESTS RESULTS
    • Sublingua 2023 Results
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  • About Us
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  • The Art of the Postcard
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    • Art of the Postcard Issue 3
    • Art of the Postcard Issue 2
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    • We Are All Artists Exhibit
      • Video Compilation FirehouseArt Center Postcard Exhibit
      • Firehouse Exhibitors 2022
        • Churnage FirehouseArt Center Postcard Exhibit
        • Daniel Staub Weinberg Firehouse Art Center Postcard Exhibit
        • Genevieve Rose Barr Art Center Postcard Exhibit
        • Eva Schultz Firehouse Art Center Postcard Exhibit
        • Samantha Malay Firehouse Art Center Postcard Exhibit
        • D Allen Firehouse Art Center Postcard Exhibit
        • Hayley Harris Firehouse Art Center Postcard Exhibit
        • Tony Peyser Firehouse Art Center Postcard Exhibit
        • Sarah Santoni Firehouse Art Center Postcard Exhibit
        • Julia Klatt Singer Firehouse Art Center Postcard Exhibit
        • Kathryn Kruse Firehouse Art Center Postcard Exhibit
        • Meg Freer Firehouse Art Center Postcard Exhibit
        • Moira Walsh Firehouse Art Center Postcard Exhibit
        • Stephanie Staab Firehouse Art Center Postcard Exhibit
        • Anne Swannell Firehouse Art Center Postcard Exhibit
        • Laura Knott Firehouse Art Center Postcard Exhibit
        • Jo Goren Firehouse Art Center Postcard Exhibit
        • CR Resetarits Firehouse Art Center Postcard Exhibit
        • Sarah Ernestine Firehouse Art Center Postcard Exhibit
        • Stephanie Johnson Firehouse Art Center Postcard Exhibit
        • Charles J. March III Firehouse Art Center Postcard Exhibit
        • Emily Mosley Firehouse Art Center Postcard Exhibit
        • Grace Desmarais Firehouse Art Center Postcard Exhibit
        • Emily Vieweg Firehouse Art Center Postcard Exhibit
        • Claire Lawrence Firehouse Art Center Postcard Exhibit
        • Meca'Ayo Cole Firehouse Art Center Postcard Exhibit
        • Andrea Rexilius Firehouse Art Center Postcard Exhibit
        • Christian Garduno Firehouse Art Center Postcard Exhibit
        • Salma Ahmad Caller Firehouse Art Center Postcard Exhibit
        • Glenn Thomas Firehouse Art Center Postcard Exhibit
        • Claire Yspol Firehouse Art Center Postcard Exhibit
        • Michael Thompson Firehouse Art Center Postcard Exhibit
        • Rikki Santer Firehouse Art Center Postcard Exhibit
        • Laura Gamache Firehouse Art Center Postcard Exhibit
        • Christine Williams Firehouse Art Center Postcard Exhibit
        • Stephanie Beechem Firehouse Art Center Postcard Exhibit
        • Imma Dunach Firehouse Art Center Postcard Exhibit
        • Ginny Short Firehouse Art Center Postcard Exhibit
        • Josh Lefkowitz Firehouse Art Center Postcard Exhibit
        • Carolyn Adams Firehouse Art Center Postcard Exhibit
      • We Are All Artists Exhibit Guide
      • We are All Artists Submission Form Firehouse Art Center Postcard Exhibit