Julianna Baggott is the author of over twenty books, three of which are collections of poetry. Her works are publishedunder her own name as well as pen names Bridget Asher and N.E. Bode. Her poems and essays have been appeared in Best American Poetry, NPR, The New York Times Book Review, the Washington Post, and the Boston Globe. Her novel, Harriet Wolf's Seventh Book of Wonders (Little, Brown) will be published in August 2015, followed by All of Us and Everything (Random House), written under her pen name Bridget Asher, coming in November. She teaches at The College of the Holy Cross and Florida State University's College of Motion Picture Arts.---------
Happy Little Death Threats
Death threats hold no sway here as I await
the Good Mister, tailored in wool, buttoned
into well-postured-place. Oh, how he’ll touch
me, pull up my nightdress, fit my breasts
into a tight gown, partition and plait my hair
like my mother once did. Arrange my arms
like a hinged doll.
So sorry, my dear,
this body longs for pine wood, even if
an unlucky soul—buried, undead—I wake
and, sighing in the dark box, must decide
whether or not to ring the cemetery bell
and be hoisted back up into the light.
Would-be killer, you’re no killer at all.
Fold up your net; time will do your trawling.