30 Poems in 30 Days - Five: A Lesser History

Stichomancy, as defined by the freedictionary.com, is a form of divination involving lines of poetry or passages from books. I use this divinatory tool,(originally used to decide a person's guilt by using lines from the Bible, and known as bibliomancy), as an idea generating process. I culled these words from Nadeem Aslam's Maps for Lost Lovers.

My rules for using stichomancy to generate ideas are:
1. Open the book at random.
2. Place your finger anywhere on the page, without looking.
3. Write down the random word or phrase your finger lighted on.
4. Repeat until you have a list of at least 7 random words and phrases.
5. Allow the words to suggest associations.

I'm not feeling terribly inspired at the moment, although the snowstorm raging outside is impressive. I'm going to sleep on it and see what happens tomorrow morning. I do like the title, which I just came up with, and now have a few more ideas about where I'd like to go with all the cryptic religious allusions.

A Lesser History
Danna

i.
forbidden

fruit of the tree
succulent and dangerous
wine-hued juice slides from lips
to chin as she split the quince
with her sharp, knowing teeth

ii.
struggling with the door

expulsion
the door rekeyed
you are no longer welcome
persona non Grata is your name
henceforth and forever
I am not your father
you are not my child
you always asked too many questions
could never leave well enough alone
you are like your snake-tailed sister
pain of childbirth shall be your penance
shall be all your kinds' penance
how do you like them apples?

iii.
what has happened to you has happened to me too

your pain
is my pain
is your pain
alpha
and omega
I am
that
I am

iv.
a gentle deliberateness in his gestures

a furrowing of divine brow
crossing one all powerful
arm over the other
divine back turned against
insistent bee-drone of need and want

v.
back from town

leveled to rubble
fires still smolder
the air thick with retribution
a lone salt pillar on the outskirts of town

vi.
a leaf curling at the edges

microcosm and macrocosm
a universe in and of itself
evidence of magic and mystery
oracle and miracle

vii.
many centuries ago

a woman partook at the altar
of a quince tree
henceforth
woman's womb a reliquary
housing the holy relic
grace