Oh God

By Michelle Tea b. 1971 Michelle Tea

spilling water from my back,

you call and i come.

that exhausted walk to reach you

breathless and no i didn’t run

to see you, i’ve been smoking

too much, same thing.

another awkward hug in the car

as my face smashes your cheek

that i can feel it leaving now

is the saddest, a beautiful eruption

you could have picked it off the tree

and chowed

but you weren’t hungry.

feeling it dying away all day

much worse than the straining

against the leash, another gorgeous

thing that should not have happened,

gone again.

Michelle Tea, "Oh God" from The Beautiful: Collected Poems. Copyright © 2004 by Michelle Tea. Reprinted by permission of Manic D Press.

Source: The Beautiful: Collected Poems (Manic D Press, 2004)

Biography

Postpunk performance poet and writer Michelle Tea grew up in Chelsea, Massachusetts. Influenced by poet Eileen Myles and photographer Nan Goldin, Tea writes narrative poetry and prose that explore issues of class, queer identity, feminism, and autobiography.

Her numerous books include the poetry collection The Beautiful: Collected Poems (2003), the novels Valencia (2000) and Rose of No Man’s Land (2006), and memoirs Rent Girl . . .

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