stone, loam, steed, smoke—theyoval thud—hew / haw—
nail gnaw—fern herhair / heart this cock reek—
hot boy (taunt bud, edge)—a fetish: pond myth,
hound’s eye, titstitch—hone swoon (asswelts)—
they ghosted (that fatty tonal result)—shy to
piss—mythic moss ring—one oval tuck—to man:
to disunion—panties’ fabric (a pinker sad)—
neon limbrhyme—all sass / penetrating
octave—thigh heaviness—sow oat / moan
(oh hoochbitter / ouchsweet)—if thin, eat hair,
boot’s lovely curve—herb (the weed variety)—
tense, tin laugh—fantasy: leather, cord, satin—
half liver / heart—tie hare—dig edge—pokes tear
(odd delight)—silhouettes—knead flesh here.

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A Note on the Construction of the Text


These poems, what I call “divinations,” were created with the assistance of an online anagramming tool and the source text of Shakespeare’s 154 sonnets. The first line of the corresponding Shakespearean sonnet is borrowed as the title for each divination. The rule I set was to anagram line-by-line, so each line of the divination has all of the same letters as the corresponding line in the Shakespearean sonnet. After entering a line from Shakespeare into the anagrammer, I’d be presented with a group of words, a lexical pool, and would then select words I was interested in or that held heat or resonance with my themes. After selecting a word, the anagramming tool would refresh and present a new list of available words. I’d continue this way editing and shaping the line until I’d used all the letters.