Reanimated Lavender Granola Switchblade Nun rides again.

Wednesday, March 4, 2009

Valentina



Valentina flubs her lines.

The little weasel director crawls out of the drain and gives her shit for it.

And she knows--

The way that birds know north,

That the entire picture is shit,

That she shouldn't be there,

But there are bills to pay

And so there she is.


That night, she strokes her lover's ribs.

Up close, the stripes are like rain down a window glass,

And when he smiles at her,

The great cruel teeth seem almost like peppermint candies.


It isn't easy for her, though all her girlfriends are faint with envy.

Every morning, the bedding is in shreds,

And his golden eyes are so intense

That she stumbles into the shower feeling scorched from the inside out.


She likes to lay her face on his fur where it is white,

Like the pillows on her canopy bed when she was a girl.

She knows

That he will not always stay with her;

And she knows

That he is changing her

Even as they lay together

Breathing in.

Breathing out.


Valentina flubs her lines.

She is supposed to be saying something about childhood, it is her character's big expository scene,

But her mind is on her lover, and how his arms are so strong that a single touch could shift her from bones to fingertips--

That he can rip her open just by padding up the stairs,

And oh, how graceful,

How lethal

Is his leap.


Valentina knows the entire picture is shit,

And that she shouldn't be there.

The little weasel director is in an unholy panic,

He calls her a stupid bitch

But she stops him with a smile

And his throat opens to her tangerine-polished nails

Just like a sinner finding God.

__________

23 comments:

  1. I think you might be brilliant.

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  2. I agree with Kristin H. I can't top that and I won't even try.

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  3. And, I am absolutely sure that you are brilliant.

    "Just like a sinner finding God."

    Damn, I love that line!

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  4. I am mesmerized with this. That was deep. You are much more then brilliant.

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  5. Wow, a young girl in the movie biz, eh? Glad I was never pretty enough to go that route.

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  6. Valentina might flub her lines, but she can stop the weasel with a smile.

    You gotta love Valentina. ;)

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  7. yes, in total agreement with the 'brilliant' verdict!

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  8. I love the picture. She's lovely.

    I also love the poem - it makes me glad I didn't go the show biz route.

    (My mom wanted me to be a happy cheerleader like ALL of my older sister - I grew up to be an engineer. Now she's annoyed because I send my days chasing my kid instead of a big promotion.)

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  9. Wow, thanks ladies. There's my ego boost for the month! This poem had the humblest of beginnings: I happened to think of the word "flub", which i had not heard in ages, and I thought, I should work that into a poem somehow. But once I got started, I felt like I was in Valentina's skin, she and her tiger lover ended up meaning a lot to me. Again, thank you all so much for the extremely kind comments. I love you all.

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  10. I haven't forgotten about scary clown!

    BTW, I am 11.5 yrs sober, too. Are you my long lost twin?

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  11. o.m.g - this reminds me of when i am in a meeting, and i know i am going to say something, err... well i am going to fluff my lines, coz i've been somewhere much more delicious. A truly perfect poem...*kisses each word delicately in appreciation*
    Kx

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  12. Thanks, K, I am pretty proud of this one. Glad you liked it, too. Those mental sidetrips are nice, aren't they?

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  13. Amazing words :3 I am deeply captured within this poem too =P

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  14. Yes, you are. Brilliant. Your mind must be a wicked awesome place to hang out. I loved this tale, loved "how lethal is his leap". I am wowed. I didnt know such poetry existed, it is mind-blowing. I love how YOU have leaped right out of the frame into your own genre.......publish publish publish! The world awaits!

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  15. Agree with all the above...and with Sherry...you should publish...I love the last line .."just like a sinner finding God"...following the "unholy panic"...bkm

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  16. Magical realism at its very best. I was mesmerized from the first line. Brilliant narrative style.

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  17. The most startling lines are the last few:

    He calls her a stupid bitch


    "But she stops him with a smile


    And his throat opens to her tangerine-polished nails


    Just like a sinner finding God."

    I don't know if I care for the word 'shit' in poems, LOL. But I say it all the time. A most provocative. I wonder if Weasel will like it, LOL.

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  18. What a powerful and memorable piece of writing. Wonderful!

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  19. Shay there are so many wonderful lines in this poem!...I can see why it is one of your favorites. I think it is one of mine as well!
    You are an amazing poet! :-)

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  20. This is breathtaking in its odd juxtapositions-I don't mean in an OMG! type of way, I mean in the stop breathing because you're thinking too hard way. Your thought process is always original, but this one is exceptionally prismed in directions that alter preconceptions and lambast stereotypes. Glad I got a chance to read it.

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Spirit, what do you wish to tell us?