Deconstruction and Rebirth in the Poetry of Caseyrenée Lopez

Debut poetry collection “the new gods” by Caseyrenée Lopez (Bottlecap Press, 2018) uses rich language to conduct an examination of the body: how bodies are placed within pop culture, how they are valued or derided in society, and how they are the vessels that lead us through love.

The collection is divided into four sections: “(in)visibly femme,” “the garden,” “love notes to you” and “the binary of love & death.” While it is the nature of reading to start at one end of a book and conclude in another, the divisions and flow of this collection are probably better read as a circle. Every poem is part of a journey, but it’s OK if no single entry in “the new gods” is considered an ultimate destination.

We enter the collection on a strong note, with “organic material.” Some of the imagery recalls Plath’s “Ariel,” but the speaker here not only defies death but gender, then arises from the ash:

“i peel the fat parts of my
self away, toss them on

the dirty floor. watch
stinging flies buzz around  

the meat of me. I’m
deconstructed. i’m red hair  

like copper, blood so iron rich
my body is a foundry.”

“Deconstruction” here means not only the breakdown of a body, but the interrogation of what a body means. At the conclusion of this piece, the speaker’s gender may be partially “synthetic” or fluid, but this is a playful notion:

“… would it be  

easier if i turned to liquid?
and i sloshed in cups, pouring  

foam off the top. i’d take
the shape of tin glass bronze  

but never ugly plastic. never
wholly synthetic.”

To further explore the organic or synthetic nature of body and gender, Lopez returns to one origin story for all humanity in “rewriting genesis in my image.” The piece, dedicated to Joanna C. Valente, uses the language and style of myths and legends to celebrate the creation, re-creation, or re-birth of the speaker.

“i morph into eve become a mother goddess

an agender creation

i form adam from a loose molar
they become a saint in my mouth”

Where the first section, “(in)visibly femme” details the destruction or deconstruction of the body, “the garden” follows with lush images from nature for a possible reconstruction of body. The poem “rebirth” offers equal parts whimsy and metaphor:

“it’s okay that i’m read as a snake,
slithering on the wet ground, coiling
in the warmth of sheep’s wool.  

i transform every day.

i tried to live as a bird, wings opened wide, sun
on my face, wind blown
feathers, dusty beak,

was shot down.

i died as a rabbit, a
nuisance, a tribute to the woods.”

While “the new gods” examines what bodies mean, the collection also delights in what bodies can do. The third section, “love notes to you,” contains luscious descriptions, like the opening lines of “blistered tongue”:

“i burnt my tongue
with melted sugar  

today. the flinching
pain reminded me  

of the way you taste
when you’re fresh  

from a hot shower,
or my favorite,  

covered in salty sweat.”

Identity with body or gender does not have to be settled or static to find love or delight (in) a lover. My favorite poem in this collection is short and sweet and lives in the “love notes to you” section:

recipe for the self

i am chopped
parts suspended
in salty broth

pieces of everything

a universe personified

you are the gravity
that anchors me  

Finally (never finally), “the binary of life & death” mingles family wounds, the sensual memories from adolescence and the pop culture that shaped an era (’90s music, movies and TV are cited often). Personally, I yelped with recognition at mentions of the “Scream” horror movie franchise, and it is referenced several times.

This deconstructive and also delicious collection is available now from Bottelcap Press.

Laura Eppinger is a Pushcart-nominated writer of fiction, poetry and essay. Her work has appeared at the Rumpus, the Toast, and elsewhere. She the blog editor here at Newfound Journal.