Spinal
by Matina L. Stamatakis
![A poem titled Spinal by Matina L. Stamatakis, with text scattered across the page in varied indentation. Text reads: imagine you as / [indented] twisted with secrets / your back to / [far right] hung in the ribs / of a swollen hunger / [indented] a thin bark line / [indented] paper border/ [space] stark [space] spine / recalls bloom & souring / [far right] shall we shed our fever? / take child / [far right] into the shadowy / [indented] talons of a hanging leaf / imagine you exempt from reason / [indented] escaping details with every season/ / [far right] vacuous ---the sun / deepens the blue [space] in your plant room / gesturing to the moon / [far right] once a year/ [space] wear your / [indented] gristle like a girdle / loop again [space] through the hanging plant / [indented] imagine you anonymous/ / fruitless [space] to identity / [far right] reeking of botany / [indented] imagine you [space] nostalgic, sinuous [space] budding / [indented] life one rib at a time](/assets/matina-stamatakis-spinal-p01.png)
Matina L. Stamatakis
Matina L. Stamatakis is a poet/visual artist currently residing in upstate New York. She has authored several books, with the most recent being The Pleasure Eaters (Trainwreck Press, 2020), and A Late Sketch of Final Doves (Moria Press, 2017).