"... you might enjoy it ... the gentle touch of the other foot."

was it in the mouth_then
or now__was it on your back
'you'__you (name withheld)
that foot is itself incarcerated in a boot
& the boot holds you down
(the foot is in the boot_though
theres that simple slip of phoneme
leads to prison
parole to langue____that
system

but the other foot___there
the naked one
caressing the backbone___sideways
on the level
that balanced hello___the boot cant make

you might enjoy it
the gentle touch of
the other foot

Douglas Barbour



Doublas Barbour is the author of many books of poetry, including Visible Visions: Selected Poems (1984) & Story for a Saskatchewan Night(1989). His criticism includes monographs on Canadian poets, John Newlove, Daphne Marlatt, & bpNichol, science fiction writer Samuel R. Delany, & Michael Ondaatje (Twayne 1993). More of Mr. Barbour's work can be found online at Poetries of Canada -- a special edition of The East Village Poetry Web.