Rebecca Faulkner

Contingent

after Eva Hesse

‍

From my hospital bed

I read the weather report

so I can imagine you

wearing your tan

trench coat with

missing buttons

in Riverside Park

my headaches are seven feet

of latex I stretch them

till they hang suspended

spend days smothering

irregular edges my scalp

thick with wood shavings

in your absence I am

my own materials

hours crackle & drag

you write to me on legal paper

yellow lined one sheet

longer than the rest because

you have so much to say

it’s absurd this tumor

resin thick I read

the doctor’s report rigid

rectangles cheesecloth vowels

anything is possible

everything is worth the risk

even my recovery a little red

lighthouse resolute

at the edge

of the Hudson River

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