Reanimated Lavender Granola Switchblade Nun rides again.

Tuesday, October 26, 2010

Deus Ex Machina

The Halloween suicide walks out along the flag pole

In resale shop black shoes.

There is a kitten named Giuseppe Verdi riding in the pocket of her smock,

And his big yellow eyes say,

"Please reconsider.

Think of all the tuna fish I would miss.

Think of Tanya,

Across town, serving lattes to strangers,

With your heart folded carefully and kept with her car keys and her fabulous accent."



But the Halloween suicide falls like the notes of an adagio,

Giving first one graceful foot to the empty air,

And then the other.

Her smock spreads out

Like bat wings

And she and Giuseppe Verdi float through the nippy October sky like two leaves connected at the stem.

"Tra-la," she sings,

As they arc this way, then that.

Clearly, they ride in the palm of a Divine Hand.



They come down softly on the patio of a chain coffee bar.

Inside, Tanya looks up from counting her tips and smiles.

No opera heroine ever looked more beautiful.

Later, petting both aviatrix and kitten, she says,

"Don't you know you can never leave as long as I own your heart?

I am your deus ex machina;

I will always cushion your fall and welcome you back to my arms."

The Halloween suicide begins to cry, big fat tears melting into Giuseppe Verdi's black fur.

"Why are you so good to me? I'm a mess," the flyer says, looking up. "What's in it for you, Magoo?"

Tanya laughs and kisses her.

"I love you for your magic,

For your ever-broken heart,

And because you need me, like Giuseppe Verdi needs you."

The kitten rumbles under her hand,

And she knows that it must be true.

_______

for One Shot Wednesday Week 17

Deus ex machina (god from the machine) is a term describing the sudden appearance of an unexpected way out of a difficult situation

35 comments:

  1. dang shay...making me tear up like that...

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  2. Surreal imagery that I enjoyed reading

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  3. Wowzers, this one was pretty scary. And i think there must be something wrong with me, because I was more worried about the kitten???? The unexpectedly happy ending was a huge relief. I love the "ever-broken heart". And am a big fan of Tanya's now! Thank you for a gripping, sick-in-the-stomach kind of read with an unanticipated bright ending. Whew! Intense!

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  4. Hey Shay! how you do this..every time i read you i am in total AWE..out of the world, you bring extremely amazing feelings out of me..really BEAUTIFUL! the ending was just..brilliant! GREAT READ..:))

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  5. Very powerful.

    Take care, Boonie

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  6. Ohhhh, I was sooooo reieved to read the ending. Wonderful writing!

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  7. Brilliant writing! but I must admit that like Sherry I was very concerned about the kitten. The ending was a beautiful and very welcome one.

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  8. Tanya sounds like a cool character. I like the use of deus ex machina. :)

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  9. I want a kitten named Giuseppe Verdi!

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  10. "in resale shop black shoes" - it's details like that make me love your writing so much, Shay.

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  11. Don't even know what to say to this. Love it. Love and Light, Sender

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  12. So much great imagery here.

    I especially liked "Think of Tanya,

    Across town, serving lattes to strangers,"

    :)

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  13. I just love this Shay...Giuseppe Verdi has captured my heart! :-)

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  14. Nice word choice, solid direction--and just plain beautiful throughout. Nice work!

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  15. very powerful and intriguing wordplay here, Shay.. loved it..! :)

    My One Shot Is Here

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  16. You are brilliant, amazing and have a way to put into words all the amazing sentiments of life.

    Tell me if you can see my blog now?

    I have been out of touch as Elliot passed to the Rainbow Bridge last week and I am just now getting to reality again.

    Love to you.
    Gabi

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  17. Scary and sad in the beginning, especially for the kitten (another cat lover here), and then sad and sweet in the end. Well done.

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  18. Imaginative, a well composed journey with the characters who could actually defy gravity. Very witchy. Loved it! Gay @beachanny

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  19. "Like the note of an adagio." That's lovely and incongruous at the same time.

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  20. I love you for your ever broken heart is magic :-)

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  21. Dear Fire Blossom

    What a beautiful story.. " you can never leave as long as I own your heart"... how true...


    ॐ नमः शिवाय
    Om Namah Shivaya
    Twitter: @VerseEveryDay
    Blog: http://shadowdancingwithmind.blogspot.com

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  22. Oh, my flying-Tiger friend. I found myself so worried for Verdi and for the one who loves and worried that wings wouldn't arrive. I felt the tension, the anxiety and the fear of falling and the impossibility of love that has the potential to keep one ever broken.
    Lovely...and sad.
    xoxo
    Weasel-friend

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  23. "For your ever-broken heart, / And because you need me..." killer lines that sting. Enjoyed the symphonic weave to your poem.

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  24. wow, this is some fantastic writing.
    Great job

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  25. Tanya is a sylph?

    Great story! I am happy for the kitten. since she did not want to die!

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  26. This is the most beautiful poem
    I have ever read.

    The second most beautiful was one
    of yours too.

    I still can't believe I actually
    "know" you, you old Michigal gal, you. Well, not that old. Not old at all. Really! :) Just getting started, it would seem.

    (And loves everything wedding, as per your comment I just read over at Lynn's. Been to any wedgie ones?)


    Thank you for sharing the gift of
    your heart so freely here.

    xoxo

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  27. Solid, fun, with a semi-surrealistic tone.

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  28. You, in no way, could have the slightest idea of the importance this poem has in my life. The last weeks. Tonight.

    What a gift you have. What a gift this poem is...

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  29. My talented friend, YOU are like a Deus ex machina at times, for me. :)

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  30. Scary and sweet at the same time. Quite the accomplishment.

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  31. Last night I finished reading Ann Patchett’s Truth and Beauty, the story of her love affair with Lucy Grealy. Failing to save her, in the end, she keeps her close via a dream where Lucy is suspended in a kind of rehab purgatory. Deux ex machine turns out to be our interal flaw of love. Your poem drives it home softly.

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  32. I wish I had a Tanya.

    I wish I were capable of being a Tanya.

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  33. GOD! Can there be a better and much finer piece to describe what poetry is? :)
    Yes,I mean this is one outstanding effort which needs all the commendation that it gets...
    Thats one helluva talent there is...:)
    Great work,I like the denouement in the poem A LOT...:)

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