Christine Hume Recurrent Curse not in the grove or the pond : not atop the iris hill : sticks and steps along a wet street : all night edging the fearful hedges : you follow the Setter : keep highway light to your right : find the gravel drive : a voice in the blinkless phlox : a voice aging in the mailbox : its terror recognizes you : pick the yellows : store your teeth in the brickwork : find a battery in the yard : on a mound where the furniture is buried : damned rash on the front porch : infinite electrical hum : pretend it was never yours : put your face in the window and let it dirty : see that you are not required : riddled with rickety niches : wind-infested attic : retrieveless scent of urine and oil : even if the bird reversed it course : a ghost is something to pursue : go through the door : one of 19 doors : panic at the argyle wallpaper : its faint warble : crave a cigarette : no one will say you can't sleep here : a squirrel nest in the ceiling fan : the closet's dead cord : all 15 windows : all the suns you strangled : on the mantle a defaced clock : cobwebs rotting corners : what won't get said : won't change what you are : mangled spiral staircase : up there and not permitted to leave : up there and not about Christine Hume