Adrian Dallas Frandle

Writer’s Note: The title of the piece “On Amoxicillin” invokes the dual sense of “on” as both a polemic (“On Beauty…”; “On Grief and Grieving…” etc) and the state of treatment, of “being on” a course of amoxicillin. The poem falls toward the end of my collection in progress, Acoustic Ecologies and works toward a theme of redemption and rehabilitation—of ourselves, the environment, connection—in the face of so much loss. At the time of writing it, I was stuck with a sick pup who had a bad leg wound, and was on a heavy course of amoxicillin that dramatically ameliorated the infection. In this poem I wanted to swirl together those ideas of what we find curative (love, medicine, nature, simple gestures of accommodation) with the recurring themes in Acoustic Ecologies: what do we ask of Nature to mean? What does that asking mean about us, as human animals? Most importantly, can finding our place make us better natured beings in and with the world? I hope these poems can help us echolocate our place of significance in an ecology where grief, love, hurt, and renewal all have their habitats and natural roles.

I have been proud of something. I can say this in full confidence.
The way the windows pour over the Sound.
Our life has communication. Today you asked me,
“What more can I do for you?” and I encountered the feeling
of falling down a well. The wondrous vertigo
of diving into a wish. It’s heady: this green
couch with you sleeping on it, belly crescent
moon rising over the cheap new carpet.
I love you so much.
I love you so much.
I wanted to state it in both our voices.
You make room for my voice and in that space I am known
to retreat. Back into a corner. Dogged collared and
conical, you draw me
out. I come every time
toward your outstretched hand. I thrall
to your kibble. Flattened palm to gentle
my horse-flinch broadcasts. Little discipline of a little horse
or little dog. Tiny fox that I am. I heal
to your command. My fortune, our pasture:
this green couch.

Adrian Dallas Frandle (he/they) writes about queerness, language & ecology. They are a poetry editor for Variant Lit & a reader for Okay Donkey. They have work in Kissing Dynamite, trampset, HAD, the lickity split & more. Collaborations with poet Jared Beloff appear in Feral Poetry & forthcoming in The South Dakota Review. adriandallas.com | Tweets: @adrianf