swifts  &  s l o w s · a quarterly of crisscrossings

pushing forward
Nicca Ray & Jesse McCloskey

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ONCE I WAS A CAT

Unzip her? You unglue her.
Topsy turvy body thrown
into emotional spin cycle.
The nasty nature sky explodes inward
to and through the naval – breeds cat –
and another
Black feral fountain
she carries chaos
in the strip of her being.

Scratch surface find monstrosity.

Run.
Where is shelter?
Tornado warning fallen debris.
She is scattered ashes on concrete.
Rising to form this new creature born.
A semblance of what was and what is.

Scratch surface encounter monster.

Where is in between?
Adrift.
The not there yet?
Flashback.
Where is now?
Blank stare.

Scratch surface run ‘til screech stops.

The whirling
Quiets
The stillness
Counters
The mayhem
Quiets
New breath
Rises

DISSONANCE

That cord
It goes high
It goes low
With nothing between
A disconnect from
Before
From what is
From here
From now
The in between
The shiver
Fever
Belly jitters
The right arm jutting out
The left arm hanging loose
The left leg kicking back
The right leg
pushing forward
Stomach cramp
Folding over
Mind in splits
Eyes in rolling
Motion

Up
Motion
Down
Emotion
flat
with nothing in between

Poems: Nicca Ray    Art: Jesse McCloskey
From Go Go Go Girl
now out from Poison Fang Books

Get a signed copy of Go Go Go Girl for $20 which includes shipping and a one of a kind bookmark made by Nicca.  Email: niccaray[at]gmail.com

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Nicca Ray is the author of the poetry collections, Go-Go-Go Girl (Poison Fang Books), Curve (Gutter Snob Books), and Back Seat Baby (Poison Fang Books,) and the memoir, Ray by Ray: A Daughter’s Take on the Legend of Nicholas Ray (Three Rooms Press). Her memoir, Love and Cigarettes: A Mother Daughter Story is coming from Punk Hostage Press winter 2024. Her poetry has recently appeared in Glue Gun #4, Maintenant #15, #16, and #17 (Three Rooms Press), A Shape Produced by a Curve and Paper Teller Diorama (Great Weather for Media), Love Love Magazine Issues #4, #5, #6, #7, the anthology NYC from the Inside, Artedolia, Moon and Sun Issue #10 & #11 and poetrybay, January 2022. She is a 2020 Acker Award recipient for memoir and a Pushcart Prize nominee.

Read an interview with Nicca Ray on Arteidolia →

Jesse McCloskey grew up in Plympton Massachusetts, near the cottage of war hero Deborah Sampson so New England history seeps into his work. He received his BFA from the Swain School of Design and an MFA from Parsons School of Design in painting. He’s exhibited work in solo and group shows in New York City since 1987 including the American Academy of Arts and Letters and recently at the Duck Creek Arts Center in East Hampton. He has a New York Foundation for the Arts fellowship and has attended the artist residencies of Yaddo and Millay. He currently lives and works in New York City.