No 29 - Summer 2004 contents of this issue bibliographic notice other issues online about this magazine search other magazines Ernesto Sarezale The fool I chase the spider that slipped from soft kisses through my throat. I sink my arm, I reach my lungs, I grab only smoke and ashes, nail dirt, sleep and craggy fluff. The spider evades the bait, the hook hanging between ducts. I push my arm further in. I research every corner in which the spider could hide. I reach and tag my inner organs in alphabetical order. In Latin if it suits me; some of them require Greek. I rename the coarser bits with euphemisms I’ve heard. But I must invent new words. The ink melts with all these fluids, which evade me like the spider. I grasp a mesh without a name. Cobweb? Spider? Tentacles? Legs? Outer organ? Pubic hair? I pull out and the rest follows, my fingers hitched in the muddle, a tangle of countless threads hair, ducts, veins, muscles and nerves. When it all comes out unfolded, reversed skin clings to my bones, distorted mirror of entrails, (sticky blood keeps it in place) I’m ready to kiss my lips. Ernesto Sarezale is the penname of a Basque cognitive scientist based in London. Some of his poems have appeared online, in poetry e-zines like Transparent Words and interactive arts web sites like the-cyber-kitchen.com. page(s) 74   Poetry Library Royal Festival Hall Hayward Gallery