Awake to Listen

By M. Chastain Flournoy

These poems trace the curve of a woman's body through innocence lost, to love found, to love forgotten. The words herein describe a world in which love is a temporary comfort, and the only true solace is ourselves. From themes of violation and violence; to worship, lust, and careful desire, Awake to Listen takes you on a sensual voyage through sex, rot, and sleep. You're never certain if you're meant to be dreaming, waking, or in that in-between space, watching motes of dust float lazily in the sunlight. That is the magic of M. Chastain Flournoy's work. She touches something inside you that is dirty and base without making you feel unholy. Her honest look at her own relationships and mental health, along with her tragic longing to be cared for speak to us all.

• Language: English
• Publisher: M. Chastain Flournoy
• Release date: Sep 8, 2020
• ISBN: 9781393302568

M. Chastain Flournoy

M. Chastain Flournoy is a queer, non-binary, femme human who lives with a disability and donates her functional time to life and relationship coaching, speaking, podcasting and education. She works within the LGBTQIA+, non-monogamy, and BDSM communities of central Virginia. Poetry is a form of selfish expression that she embraces wholly as self-care. She shares these words with the world because she believes the darkness and light in her soul touch the darkness and light in others. When she's not helping others nor writing, Chastain is a mindfulness andTantra practitioner, a Domina, a lover, an amateur plant-enthusiast, and watcher of murder shows. She'll tell you that her lane is to upset the status quo, troll, and to comfort others as they delve into their own shadow work. You can read short fiction by her at Black Heart Magazine and The Elephant Journal. She lives in Virginia, US with her polyamory pod and her terrible dog, Oliver.

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Copyright

Copyright © 2020 M. Chastain Flournoy

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system without prior written permission of the author.

First e-book edition 2020

Dedication

For myself,

and all of the selves I have left behind, and all of the selves I have yet to meet.

Ladies

On Narcissism and Kissing Girls

You, such a small, eager little mouth –

You kiss it and it latches on

Kisses back full force something,

Like when I put my finger to yours:

You suck it and shut down.

And, like yours, it’s perfect,

Comfortable, buttery;

Like I am full-force-something.

Come here, you fascinating thing,

You tiny little mouth,

You cock-suck perfection

That’s mine if I want it…

Your proclaimed addictive this,

Your white-belly soft-that.

Your fuck-you smell smell.

New

She has no defined structure

And remains a mass of flesh

In sweaty robe under mine,

Mine tongue, mine hand,

Mine whore thoughts this that.

She has no shape, no life-

Just softness and light

Of nicotine yellow ideas,

Of mine day,  mine head,

Mine promise- love under all.

The Education

Seated pretty in a row,

You, orange eye-lined

And heart on fire glow,

Waiting for, J’accuse!

From the older lot next to me.

Pinch-faced, Aquiline,

You stand with webs and webs

Around your throat,

Like doors of silk between us.

We all crawl through stockings

Woven like a deranged Gaultier

Jungle gymnasium,

Prodded along by learning we

Never ever gained, and fear

We never ever lost.

For Grace and Our Escape (I)

Once, for an instant,

There was meaning to that straining

Drive towards everything good, pure,

Not all together grey.

And in that time we tried,

Oh! How we forced ourselves

To be this everything…

But by some act of God,

The Pope

Or