strikethrough #1

May 2, 2024

BY MAXINE FLASHER-DÜZGÜNEŞ; ILLUSTRATION BY SARAH GROTH

I.

this shapelessness
expends
energy
a form of nothing
but piercing
into black

the fingernail finds
the node of entrance
into
disparity
an air where the breath
only comes in

II.

this shapelessness                                         omit narration of the dance
expends                                                           insert timestamp
energy                                                              omit presence of effort
a form of nothing
but piercing
into black                                                        omit languid fade

the fingernail finds                                       omit fingernail, insert wrist
the node of entrance
into disparity                                                 insert broad fissure
an air where the                                            omit balancing act
breath
only comes in                                                 omit deliberate inhale

III.

shapelessness
a form of nothing
but piercing
the node of entrance
into
breath

IV.

shapelessness                                                omit edges
a form of nothing                                         insert slippery sphere
but piercing
the node of entrance                                   omit precision, insert cloudiness
into                                                                 insert introspection
breath                                                             insert unbroken in-breath

V.

a form
but piercing
the entrance

~~

strikethrough #1 was part of a larger project creating choreographic scores using erasure poetry technique and culminated in the creation of the site www.strikethrough-score.org.

Maxine Flasher-Düzgüneş is a poet, dancer, and filmmaker from Northern California, a former US-UK Fulbright Finalist and alumna of the Djerassi Resident Artist Program. She is the First Place recipient of the Rubin Prize for Poetry (2020) from NYU and the author of heart-shaped box, a poetry chapbook from Ghost City Press (2022). 

Sarah Groth is an interdisciplinary performer, choreographer, teacher, poet, and mixed medium visual artist. After achieving a degree in Contemporary Dance and Intercultural Communications from the University of New Mexico, Sarah set out as an independent artist and traveler. She has had the privilege of moving, creating, and performing with renowned international artists across the world. Sarah has been published in the Albuquerque Journal, Blue Mesa Review, Daily Lobo, Stance on Dance, and Forty South. Sarah is committed to addressing the complexities of humanness in conjunction with self and community — aiming to bring the intensely intimate forward, creating openness within juxtaposition and identity.