Desire-Production and Object / Image are a thematic mix, engaging with intersections of literature, technology, and environment.

Desire-Production

Within what terms do you imagine
the church in your hometown, assuming
a small town, assuming a church
town. Something rough that could touch

you & the reason (juxtaposed)
I speak to you now:
presuming the desktop,
that beautiful house
in the big grey box in
that beautiful house.

Which 90s icon was your favorite?
How does its face meet yours?

Since I quit that internet service, I imagine
red bricks—Ahistoric.
Anerror. The real its slippage
Computer made the mind an image

pixelated folder catalog
iterations of your resume
all backlit ambitions
in the machine which

computer mind the real logic
instead a synthesis
: humanity’s singular gaze its occupation.
: to build strong our delicate homes.
: the personal the alien the machine.

let’s talk // let’s talk // lets talk
input // occupy // interface
design // face // estimate
judgment // value in // herent/herited
interface the desire produced

like a productivity influencer’s Instagram feed
like optimism’s throaty bellows
like free-fall into belief that your representative will catch you
like muscle memory

Why do you want of me? What terms:

constraint :: desire

Object / Image

You settle on a park bench by a stray dandelion in the grass.
The park is made of money.
There is a soothing hum of insects & light filtered.
Money is a form of power / power
is the material. You take a book from your bright
yellow bag. Your thumb against the page
is pleasant. Power justifies itself / labels itself
pristine. Rest your eyes / look up / the grass
is such a lovely shade. A pit bull trundles through the scene.
Power is an idea. The words on the page
grow dim then stark, electronic stars kick on. Reflections
startle the pond. Desire acts upon & through.
What is the language using us for?
Wrong question. Wrong question.

Mary Rose Manspeaker was born and raised in West Virginia. They are the author of the chapbook Small, Black Box (Bottlecap Features) and the microchap Context Collapse (Ghost City Press). Recent poems appear in Poetry Northwest, Passengers Journal, Western Humanities Review, and elsewhere.

Linktree: https://linktr.ee/maryrosemanspeaker
Twitter: @MaryRoseMan
Instagram: @maryrmanspeaker