Garage

Katherine Autiö

GARAGE

by Katherine Autiö

Slanted high above dying seas of tiger lilies
crumbling stucco walls delineate yard from sky
wind whips leaves across brown shingles
sticking in curled tar edges, like parking tickets

Green steel door, segmented carapace elevated
welcomes play takers, thieves and climbers
through a graveyard strewn with tetanus nails
flesh-eating washing machines with hungry wringers

Where children, ensconced in its hidden loft, dodge
the roof’s teeth, and dream of future penthouse homes,
flip through rotten pages of ancient newspapers
ersatz insulation as entertainment, dresses for 99₵

Hang, nimble armed from their secret aery’s maw
land expert bent knee landings, scrambling up to seek
the next invention: weld Frankenstein bicycles; craft
time machine hovercrafts from refrigerator wheels

Scurry outside, mound rusted leaves into tumuli
below the gusty roofline, awaiting lemmings to ascend
sway on sloped sandpaper then plummet, joyful
to the waiting pyre, jagged leaves consuming them

A subscribe now button with

KATHERINE AUTIÖ emerged from the 80's hardcore-punk music scene in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada with a passion for self-expression. She is a surrealist oil painter, a poet, a writer of fiction and non-fiction, and she has been an English and Arts teacher for the past 30 years. She is currently writing her first full-length book of poems based on the life, work and legacy of Louis Daguerre, as well as a chapbook about the 80’s and 90’s music scenes. She lives in Edmonton with her life-partner, and four fur children.

Garage can be found in Augur Magazine Issue 4.2.