Reanimated Lavender Granola Switchblade Nun rides again.

Monday, April 4, 2011

The Dead Woman Got Up



The dead woman got up--

Thank Goddess for hard rains and fingernails.

Those who would rise, give up black for blue,

Earth for sky.



The dead woman leant against a tree--

Its bark like the skin of a mummy-baby,

But her with no heart to be lured back with,

Exchanging love for leaves,

Mud,

And droppings.



She can lure no man,

Bear no child;

She doesn't care how clean your house is.

She hasn't got a thing to wear,

She has forgotten her own name,

She kisses the dogs who fight over her bones and names them--

Cerberus,

Anubis,

and Sugar.



The dead woman gets up--

Spends a week in the underbrush, falling apart,

Skin flaking away, blood turning thick and black.

Underneath,

A changeling, a hoodoo queen, neither virtuous nor innocent

Shines in the moonlight,

Smiles, starts walking,

Fearsome,

Careless,

Not really dead at all.

________

20 comments:

  1. sheding the chrysalis of humanity she becomes...hmmm...makes me wonder what it was that killed her in the first place...she probably read too much haiku...

    snort, love the names of her dogs...

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  2. Cerberus,
    Anubis,
    and Sugar.

    I love that. Cerberus is one of Baby Puppy's current obsessions.

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  3. "..Those who would rise give up black for blue/Earth for sky..." the edgy dark tone, like the veil on the woman in the pic, almost hides how absolutely beautiful the images are, how perfect, the baby mummy-skin, the dogs who fight for her bones disarmed by naming them, the week falling apart and the final soul-hatching...just totally out of the park, the whole thing.

    (Brian's haiku line's pretty damn good, too. ;-) )

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  4. Spooky. :) And great dog names, too.

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  5. Cerberus,

    Anubis,

    and Sugar.

    And that right there slayed me...

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  6. Love the dog names. Hahaha

    Wonderful, stunning, vivid imagery. I kinda feel like this woman.

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  7. I think this is one of your spirits that you worked too hard! She could not handle the pressure of writing a phenomenal poem in the span of one day...

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  8. This IS a clever gypsy poem. I think I'm a gypsy at heart. And I know I'm clever. Is this my story?

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  9. Fantastic and phantasmagorical. If that's a word. This poem is so good, all my comments just shrivel up in awe. You are brilliant.

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  10. Its bark like the skin of a mummy-baby-- Fabulous line. I love a strong, un-dead woman. Nice work!

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  11. I like the idea of the rebirth? in this poem. It makes me think of how many times we have to do this in our lives; die and get up again.

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  12. Ooo love the feel behind the words. I can hear air without oxygen as she passes by

    Shay You R 2 Good!!!

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  13. I'm with Rene ... the dogs' names! Priceless ... as is your poem.

    Jimmy Webb wrote my Glen Campbell recorded songs ... By The Time I Get To Phoenix and Wichita Lineman. What an incredible talent.

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  14. So, you got me at the first line, which is a-mazing and I'm still snickering over "Cerebus, Anubis, and Sugar." But I really love the last stanza the best. How she transforms and is somehow reborn from the undead into something else entirely. Anyway, I identify. I know exactly what a zombie feels like.

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  15. I love this one a lot...so creepy, and so good...

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  16. Is it weird that I'm listening to Bauhaus as I read this? The perfect background music for beautiful/sardonic poetry...

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  17. Shines in the moonlight, I have seen her .. I have been her

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Spirit, what do you wish to tell us?