Sept. 17, 2023
Audio
Ravens of Merry Green Land
After Nick Cave and PJ Harvey’s duet “Henry Lee” from Murder Ballads
By Ava C. Cipri
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Ravens of Merry Green Land
After Nick Cave and PJ Harvey’s duet “Henry Lee” from Murder Ballads
By Ava C. Cipri
I don’t know who I want
to be more,
Polly Jean or Nick
shoulder to shoulder
facing each other
finishing gestures,
melding into one.
Medium-length black hair
& pale skin
in white dress shirts,
black jackets, & pants.
PJ Harvey’s red nails pull
at her shirt’s lapels
& Cave
before they break in two,
she wails, You won’t find a girl in this damn world
That will compare with me
Nick joins, both swaying,
And the wind did howl and the wind did blow
La la la la la, la la la la lee
A little bird lit down on Henry Lee
I’m strung-out
four minutes in.
I want to be the space
between
their electric breath
between the longing
it’s dangerous, here.
Or, more, I want to be reborn
in this room, as theirs.
Anything is possible
& I want it all.
Harvey caresses
her throat, Lie there, lie there little Henry Lee
Till the flesh drops from your bones
They twirl into a green backlit waltz,
PJ’s green eyes echo,
For the girl you have in that merry green land
can wait forever for you to come home
I imagine the body of Lee
lily white at the well’s bottom.
Whatever the cost,
I want in: Together,
three glint-feathered ravens
culling a carcass.
Ava C. Cipri
Ava C. Cipri is a non-binary queer writer, educator, and activist who co-found The Deaf Poets Society: An Online Journal of Disability Literature & Art. A Pushcart, Best New Poets, and Best of the Net nominee, Ava has two chapbooks: Leaving the Burdened Ground (Stranded Oak Press) and Queen of Swords (dgp). A Zoeglossia fellow, they hold an MFA from Syracuse University and take Carlow University's Madwomen in the Attic Workshops running in the company of other Mads. Ava resides at www.avaccipri.com
Image description: A light skin femme-presenting person with a dark brown messy bob looks off to the left; they are lying on the floor close-lipped, chin resting on crossed arms in a black pleather zipper jacket.