• Current Issues
  • Past Issues
    • Issue 1: Spring 2020
    • Issue 2: Summer 2020
    • Issue 3: Fall 2020
    • Issue 4: Winter 2021
    • Issue 5: Spring 2021
  • Intervals
  • Submit
  • Directory
  • Contact

Richie Smith

Bio:
Richie Smith is a New York City writer and physician. His work has appeared in ducts.org, 580 Split, The Briar Cliff Review, Confrontation, The Dos Passos Review, Eleven Eleven, Forge, G.W. Review, Mudfish, Quiddity and other publications. He is currently completing his first novel. Readers are invited to visit his website: richiesmithwriter.com or listen to his audio files on SoundCloud: RichieSmith.

Catarrh of Discord

Catarrh of discord
once dry as bone

discord
she signs consent

Cat rh+ cord
I hand her pajamas

Cat of dis
robing behind frosted glass

ata discord
this blowhole has a pressure valve

Catarrh of disco rd
barometers descend with a lover's shallow breaths

C of discord
in c---urare paralysis

Catarrh of discord
anoxic staleness tastes of distilled water

I am Placenta

I am the afterbirth,
the never sacred mound of flesh
rolled from the womb

engorged like an afterthought,
pungency stripped
from the dark-sided disc of mama’s breast.

Or was it a trophoblast
in a parchment pouch?
Deli meat for the faculty
of ex-vitro stoop-plated
shredded cold, Herculean blue

pilfering leeches,
spigots draining
siphoning up torn tears.

A year ago, she left me
denuded and alone, dredging memories
with a sickle and a sieve.

Reminds me how it feels
to be a porous sponge
discarded with the bathwater.

Subscribe

Thank you!

Error

Bad respond
Copyright © 2020-2021 The Banyan Review, LLC

We use cookies to enable essential functionality on our website, and analyze website traffic. By clicking Accept you consent to our use of cookies. Read about how we use cookies.

Your Cookie Settings

We use cookies to enable essential functionality on our website, and analyze website traffic. Read about how we use cookies.

Cookie Categories

Essential

These cookies are strictly necessary to provide you with services available through our websites. You cannot refuse these cookies without impacting how our websites function. You can block or delete them by changing your browser settings, as described under the heading "Managing cookies" in the Privacy and Cookies Policy.

Analytics

These cookies collect information that is used in aggregate form to help us understand how our websites are being used or how effective our marketing campaigns are.