Ten Steps to be Correctly Consumed by a City, by Mark Ward

Family Matters, by Alexandra de Kempf (Germany, b. Venezuela) 2011. Click image to visit artist site.

​Ten Steps to be Correctly Consumed by a City
                                                        for Eric Norris

dress like the person who 
plays you in the movie 
of your life; allow 
marks on your skin (but worry
they’re usurping); body parts 
should become agents
of commotion; act like you’re 
artisan, hand-drawn; 
stress like it’s an artform; 
bury the greenery of your accent
in collage; learn to think 
inside the barrage of noise; 
be aware every moment 
each day is your choice;  
your life, a gesture you 
can’t quite hold onto; 
and nor should you. 

Mark Ward

This poem first appeared in Headstuff.
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Mark Ward is the author of Circumference (Finishing Line Press, 2018). His work has been published in Poetry Ireland Review, Assaracus, Tincture and many more, including some anthologies. He is the founding editor ofImpossible Archetype, an international journal of LGBTQ+ poetry. He blogs erratically athttp://astintinyourspotlight.wordpress.com