Harriet Marquis
Any Part You Send (Dissociation I)
Who’s Here Today?
I’ll speak with any part you send…
This mismatched brood
of birds you bring
from crows to wrens
appear a flock of friends
who cannot share
the station you pretend is theirs.
God knows, I know
your parts provide protection
from the past, and so
I’ll speak with anyone you care to send.
Could there be one who knows the truth
the others dare not tell?
For sure your raucous cry and sword-like beak
portend to do me in.
And yet you’ll see I’ll not
my role depart
or from my chair descend.
The seat you choose
though small is yours. In time
you’ll grow within it.
We’ll plan a meeting soon.
For now, I’ll hear the cries
from each of you in turn,
till one arrives to sing for all. Till then
I’ll speak with any part you send.
Harriet Marquis is a retired psychoanalyst and former English teacher, currently living in Charlotte, NC. Her work has appeared in the International Journal of Psychoanalytic Self Psychology, the Journal of New Jersey Poets, and Open Minds Quarterly.
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