The Effacements/A Doctrine of Signatures

A spousal relationship is reflected in a poetic codex: The Effacements by Chris McCreary is bound with Jenn McCreary's A Doctrine of Signatures in an entirely equitable arrangement, as each poet gets 55 pages. Jenn's ""bile"" ""was thick, black nourishment feculent/ was partial & purged/ from the spleen one where melancholy/ & dried cool & sourblack/ & is a bridle to two, preserves/ them in blood/ & feeds bone."" Chris's ""Fizz licked from chapped lips/ while pitching down a staggered path/ of scratched glasses, smashed bone,/ broken phones"" is ""wishing to shift this itch,/ inching imperceptibly toward this exit""-and finishes with ""21 Suggested Readings."" Readers will accept the assignment only after finishing these two.