Issue 9 – Winter 2005 – Jason Stumpf

Jason Stumpf

 
The Frontispiece

: an ornate braid 
(some once called books little bodies) 
cut from the daughter

of the man who etched 
the plate (suffering 
for art not the sole territory

of the artist). We found it 
hiding out in the stacks—the book, 
the picture rendered from life;

jeweled and pinned, 
wound around here follows 
and the title. Touch the page—

the strands 
rough raised against our fingers.
Holding the paper to light

we saw the hidden 
bird-of-paradise 
on every page.

 

 

Jason Stumpf holds an MFA from Washington University in Saint Louis. His poems have appeared in LITNew American WritingPost Road, and elsewhere. He currently teaches English and Creative Writing at Providence College.

 

 

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