this, my submission for that mightiest of beasts, the 10th Daughter of Memory
I was a monkey on a swing
clinging to a lost reality
smoldering vacantly behind topaz eyes
reddened by my tears
saddened by my imminent reprisal
and descent into a rank position of subservience.
Oh, obsequious
no, obsequience,
yes, allusiveness is obvious
to a tortured soul
at the end of his rope.
Praise me then for I am hopeful
my hole is not so deep,
though the fissures are ragged
and they shift
yes they close without warning
they bloody my fingers
which smear my creviced countenance
unshellacable in theory
yet plastered in anonymity
and I go down
swept further into debt
like a paper boat caught
in unwieldy eddies of cumbrous froth.
Forgive me, my bones are evident
now that a goat stands upon my shoulder
leans there to balance the world beneath
its cloven hoof.
If I stand upon this pier,
behind the veil
only a boy with the eyes of Nosferatu
will penetrate the true nature
of my three blackened wives.
They are gathered now to celebrate
and hold altogether
a watermelon above their heads
while it drips the sugars of summer
upon their clavicle and breast
to be licked and consumed
by ravenous bees
striped as officials
and propelled by the handlebars
that pierce la cabeza
around about encircled in perpetuity
improbably but true.
That my demise is irrefutable
is certain and inimical in itself
at least to my mind
while I perceive the antics of those aloft.
Striving then to hoist
to stutter free and climb
to rise amid the chaos
despite the bedlam of status quo
I will defeat the parade of
the antlered tutelorians
who wander unwatching
like strings of devil rays
in a gravy of trickled down smog.
Please decline to pinch my tender pieces
while I clamber your static poses--
I'm on a mission
a self proposed directive
an endeavor to propellate
out of a thorny predicament
to heap revenge upon
beauties who stencil arcane epitaphs
upon a legacy achieved
erected
over a lifetime
subject to the approval
of material gods
and undermined by jealousy and greed
of the progeny of theirs
and not surprisingly,
mine.
Now you've heard my confession
and read the harrowing tale
of a penance, reckless
complete
unalterable.
Beware all who witness the respite
and ease of which one can extricate
in a snit
and hound the wicked
with whom to share eternity alongside
in the doomed depth of despair.
Ha ha, I have been down away
and know my way around the joint--
come play with me, my pretties.
22 comments:
snap...you sound quite mad there in the end..some interesting phraseology along hte way as well...watch the pinching of those tender places...smiles.
Well, the ending explains why the theme to Jaws was in my head as soon as I started reading this.
Weird, eh?
As I commented to Willow, this is what I like about poetry. It is coy, and gives up its secrets reluctantly, demanding the full emotional attention of the reader.
This be my first reading ...
The cool part is that I REALLY love this work, the scary part is that I SAW it. -J
unshellacable is a new one on me. I like it!
Unlike Jeff, it wasn't the theme to Jaws that I heard. It was the chorus of women singing "He had it coming, he had it coming, he only had himself to blame..."
It's a bit too complex for my taste, but it certainly is a very creative piece.
You know,that was amazing.
Definitely a Tom piece but I understood most of it which is some kind of breakthrough. Nice to know I'll have company when I'm dragged down there. 'further swept into debt like a paper boat caught' oh yeah! I hear ya!
Tom:
Who are you? as I read this epic tale of a poem, is this man who penned this piece -- the reincarnate of Gaston Leroux perhaps John Milton?
but the ending -- I adore the ending, it is all your own,,, my pretties come and play....
the 10th daughter may have to hand you the award for this....
Cheers,
joanny
thanks Joanny--i'll have to look up this Gaston fellow, see what's he is all about
Holy shit. The voice resonates.
And what Julie says!
"licked and consumed
by ravenous bees" frigacious! holy holy, this imagery.
xo
erin
Second reading, tis done.
Admire the image 'in a gravy of trickled down smog'
Now I am off to hunt down this journey you have taken me on. Shall find out about Nosferatu, antlered tutelorians and La Cabeza.
I am put to mind of the fate of that other journeyman, Coleridge's ancient mariner.
See you anon ...
wow Julie--in awe that you've taken on this quest. let me know what comes of it...really, that might make a fun post.
So Joanny came up with Leroux's 'Phantom' and Milton's 'Paradise Lost'. Others reckon you are dabbling down in the nether world.
Me, I am not finding it an easy task. I can see the antlers and the handlebars out of head (la cabeza, tricky!). I wanted to link in Nosferatu, the vampire, a bit more but that strand took me nowhere.
So then I tried to start with the title and see if you gave me any hints. I knew that 'fluxing' was a cleaning out, but how did that link with entrophy which is something to do with disorder and randomness.
At this point, I find some parts very accessible but others to be too dense for my brain to extract the meaning you wish. I am annoyed at myself for this.
Shall read for the final time during the voting period. I like poetry.
haha. i love how everyone can interpret poetry differently. to tell the truth, i am more interested in a flow of words, like brush strokes, than i am an ultimate message...abstract is awesome
you know i've read this a couple of times and i'm stopped each time by the sugars of summer. there are so many wonderful moments like that in this piece - it reads like a hyperkinetic rollercoaster, and i mean that in a really really good way....
don't remember anyone ever revisiting...kinda makes my day
We just don't usually tell you about it, Tom. I've been back couple of times, especially since reading Julie's accounts of her query into meaning.
I had two scenarios flash across my mind as I read and then reread this piece. One involved sports, and the other the economy. I just don't have enough patience to try to work it out.
If there was hidden meaning behind the symbolism, I hope you'll share it with us (especially the lazy ones) after all is said and done.
Yes, that is what I eventually concluded yesterday, that what really pleased you was the flow of words, and even the physical appearance on the page. There are some good images which have been mentioned in other comments, eg the buffetted boat and the watermelon. I like the goat with the cloven hoof, and also the three witches, but I would have liked them intertwined a bit more.
Personally, I like words and imagery, but I also like there to be ultimate meaning. I dont mind this scrabbling around in the dirt though on the way to meaning.
while i'm writing these things there is always a semblence of meaning and an ultimate endpoint, so yes there is some meaning...but i don't really think there is a hidden meaning. This truly is open to interpretation, and half the fun is finding out what it means to you, because maybe the words say something about myself that even i don't know. (or about you, in your interpretation!) i think that is what a lot of poetry is...yes?
they bloody my fingers
which smear my creviced countenance
Loved this
Your writing always gets me interested. I think this is the first poem of yours I have read, and it was quite enjoyable.
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