Now What

They removed the left side of my brain
with chain saw and pliers.

Someone wants me to stack 200 paper cups
that I keep knocking over.

I want fire, not a cup of water.

I can offer only incomplete 
or damaged love.

I contain cloud in my eyes.

If you harvest my heart
to find your heart,

you’ll discover empty chambers.

Moving through my cranial cavity
tongues and lips vibrate like 
old washing machines. 

GARRETT PHELAN

Garrett Phelan is the author of the chapbook Outlaw Odes (Antrim House) and the micro-chapbooks Unfixed Marks and Standing where I am (Origami Poem Project). His poems have appeared in numerous publications, including Harpy Hybrid, Slipstream, Potomac Review, Sheila-Na-Gig, and Third Wednesday. He has taught poetry in a variety of locations, from the Kennedy Center Education Department to a maximum-security prison in Connecticut.