title: Seven Times Belly
slug: seven-times-belly
format: raw
locked: true
date: 2026-04-23
register: sound-writing
notes: Revision of belly-fat-v2.md (4/17). Same body, refrain stripped from "Belly Fat" to just "Belly" throughout. Title renamed to count the new refrain. Two distinct pieces sharing nearly all words — the single word "Fat" carries the difference. "Belly Fat" carries the self-judgment freight; "Belly" alone is more anatomical, more a place than a feature. Whether this version supersedes belly-fat-v2.md or whether both stand as a pair is an artistic call deferred. Refrain returns eight times across the body, holding the piece together the way a song holds together. Closes on "backside to belly press on and own our forged actions" — turning, owning. Different ending move from the closing-parenthetical form of the recent LitUp pieces.
---
Seven Times Belly
know no wrong half water half earth ... we're looking for your face ... Belly ... covers ... did you ... we're breathing fine ... really well ... like a secondhand ... soft horizon ... we're soul mates ... we thought you meant home ... pull myself a round ... Belly ... covers us ... there were shadows ... we used to know very well ... da da da da the piano plays us a ... in your hair ... did you really say ... Belly ... underneath apology hill ... something we used to say in the dark ... the feeling of falling seems so familiar ... there were flowers in your ... but most of the time ... in the middle eye there were colored belongings and ... Belly ... where shirts rest easy ... and flowers bloomed wild ... and flowers bloomed wild but only at night ... pains in our stomach fading ... Listening to that melancholy piano song ... Spill of the Ribs ... Belly ... the moon did something else ... wind knows how to run ... strangers look stranger ... and the shadows turned to trees ... and ears portrayed us as ... were you happy as a child? ... What did you come here for ... boy? ... seasons and sorrows captured in a short story ... What else do you need to tell us? ... day horizon pools ... saw you dancing in the breeze ... saw you on the bathroom floor ... bleeding through graves ... you're losing your ... you shaved all of your hair ... Belly ... did you really say no? ... baby used to grow ... Most of the time we're able to get through the night ... steadfast moon tide ... bend keeper ... did you really say no more? ... you're losing the curve of your lower back ... second-hand singer ... then the flowers turned red ... then when the light fell ... Cat's birthday pillow purred ... you crawled to the bedroom ... let's not die on the bus stop ad ... Where were you born? ... Where did you come from? ... midnight feast laughter ... Belly ... the cigarette smoke you left behind died in the heat ... out in the street ... someone else is hunger now ... colors we're under the covers ... we stay at familiar places ... Belly ... we talked to empty subways ... and they did not smile or say a word ... backside to belly press on and own our forged actions.
