Karolina Manko
Yoko Ono As Performance Art
She sits on her knees for us,
in a big room where everyone
in the audience has a pair of scissors,
and permits us to snip away her
clothes.
One-by-one we strip
her layer-by-layer.
Anticipating her to turn
suddenly afraid.
Eventually to plead. We want that
of her.
Our sick American aesthetics
tell us that she is the death of rock and roll,
of the blue eyed man in the round glasses.
She did not take his bullet after all. We remember.
Now she is a shadow-wife.
Mother to an all American boy,
practically a Kennedy but less politicized.
We want to strip her down to her yellow-
to the one truly discernable difference.
We want to show her she is not at home.
And she will let us.
Perfectly passive.
It drives us mad.
In a big room
each takes his piece of her.
But she never disappears.
No matter how deeply we cut.
And she never cries, either.
Karolina Manko is the patron saint of naps. She enjoys obsessively watching The Food Network and perusing used-book bins. She is the founding editor of Ghost House Review, a digital poetry magazine. You can follow her on twitter: k_manks
Yoko Ono As Performance Art
She sits on her knees for us,
in a big room where everyone
in the audience has a pair of scissors,
and permits us to snip away her
clothes.
One-by-one we strip
her layer-by-layer.
Anticipating her to turn
suddenly afraid.
Eventually to plead. We want that
of her.
Our sick American aesthetics
tell us that she is the death of rock and roll,
of the blue eyed man in the round glasses.
She did not take his bullet after all. We remember.
Now she is a shadow-wife.
Mother to an all American boy,
practically a Kennedy but less politicized.
We want to strip her down to her yellow-
to the one truly discernable difference.
We want to show her she is not at home.
And she will let us.
Perfectly passive.
It drives us mad.
In a big room
each takes his piece of her.
But she never disappears.
No matter how deeply we cut.
And she never cries, either.
Karolina Manko is the patron saint of naps. She enjoys obsessively watching The Food Network and perusing used-book bins. She is the founding editor of Ghost House Review, a digital poetry magazine. You can follow her on twitter: k_manks