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The Art of Disassociation

By Eli Clare

           drift

lose time
gain time
ride the time machine

            twirl

tear up the diagnoses
let them rain down
like pride parade confetti

             fly

use them for all
they’re worth in meds
or therapy or sheer survival

            evaporate

claim ourselves
escape artists

efficient and beautiful

 

 

 

 

Listen as Eli Clare reads "The Art of Disassociation."

Added: Monday, June 27, 2022  /  Used with permission.
Eli Clare
Photo by Samuel Lurie.

White, disabled, and genderqueer, Eli Clare lives near Lake Champlain in occupied Abenaki territory (also known as Vermont) where he writes and proudly claims a penchant for rabble-rousing. He has written two books of essays, the award-winning Brilliant Imperfection: Grappling with Cure and Exile and Pride: Disability, Queerness, and Liberation, and a collection of poetry, The Marrow's Telling: Words in Motion. He also has been published in dozens of journals and anthologies. Eli works as a traveling poet, storyteller, and social justice educator. Since 2008, he has spoken, taught, and consulted (both in-person and remotely) at well over 150 conferences, community events, and colleges across the US and Canada.

Other poems by this author