Disability Isn't Sexy by Erin Lynn Marsh
2019 NM/AZ Book Awards FINALIST in First Book & Poetry
“I am peculiar, compact with no spare parts included,” announces Erin Lynn Marsh in the opening poem of Disability isn’t Sexy,” and from this to the last line of the collection, her intimate, occasionally undersea poems inhabit a space poised between confidence and longing, vulnerability and power. Marsh’s embodied experience of the world is set forth in lyric forms that explore how attraction and dis/connection intersect with difference. A distinctive debut. Paula Cisewski, author and winner of the Diode Editions Book Prize
Poetry Playhouse Publications
Cover design by Denise Weaver Ross
Cover art by Roe Libretto
Paperback, 6 x 9, 52 pages
What you should know before our first date by Erin Lynn Marsh
I have prepared for this evening by applying
a bit of color to my cheeks in hopes you will kiss me.
This way, I can enjoy your lips without needing
to pretend to be bashful.
I don’t water my plants nearly enough.
Even though I live alone, I cook for two—setting good
food at the entrance to the cave of my desire.
I am a believer in sensible shoes.
Soon even brightly colored tattoos won’t be enough
to hide my shame.
You won’t hurt me—even if your hands grasp
my scarred hips. Pull me close.
