Reanimated Lavender Granola Switchblade Nun rides again.

Tuesday, August 30, 2011

Candi McIntosh And The Tiger





Candi McIntosh is swallowed by a tiger.
Now, she can compose herself and think what to do
Without his snow and caramel face turning her to goo.

He is the same tiger
Who used to get in trouble for catching the birds off Mrs. Densmore's feeder,
Taking Tweety,
The feeder,
The branch it hung from,
And some of the siding off the house in the effort.


But his parents had hauled their childlessness behind them
For too long,
Like a house trailer filled with bowling balls.
How could they scold him?
In the end,
He received chocolates, not chastisement, for his crimes.

In high school,
He excelled at debate--
A remarkable thing for one who could not speak!
And yet,
Who would argue with him?
Who could mistake his meaning
When faced with his warm breath,
His rough tongue,
Or his basso profundo contented sighs?

Candi McIntosh never had a chance.
From the moment she saw him,
She wished to be the stars
So that when he moved silently across the sky at night,
His great soft paws
With all of their implied and restrained power,
Would touch her at every step.

Still,
The wedding was marred
By his insistence upon marking all the pews
And by his repeated lunging at the minister,
So that the vows were delayed
And disrupted
Again and again.

Now, after seven years together,
And so may beefsteaks and band-aids between them,
He has swallowed her.
Curled inside of him,
If her phone is ringing somewhere, she can't get to it;
If someone has rung the doorbell,
She can't come.
In the darkness of him,
She is eclipsed.

It is always true, however,
That a woman has her ways.
No matter what he may believe,
Or how sure and complacent he may have become,
She can stroke him
Or stagger him
As she chooses,
From within,
And there is nothing he can do about it now
But to tread softly
And--a little confused--
Sit center ring
To await his Mistress's command.


_____


for dverse OLN 7

26 comments:

  1. I was going to give you a bit of snarkery (so he couldn't have tried counseling first??) but this poem is really too complex and rich to be snarked at for long. The play of character, the gorgeous language--"..She wished to be the stars
    So that when he moved silently across the sky at night,
    His great soft paws
    With all of their implied and restrained power,
    Would touch her at every step.." (!) and the almost mystical handling of attraction, alienation, power and the illusions of appearance, are all combined to maximum saturation.

    I loved every word of it.

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  2. "chocolates, not chastisement, for his crimes."
    Ah to be a caramel tiger!
    Aloha from Waikiki;


    Comfort Spiral
    > < } } ( ° >



    ><}}(°>

    < ° ) } } > <

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  3. smiles. perhaps i will email you may original comment...hehe...oh you ladies have us by the tale...no matter how ferocious we try to seem...lovely write shay...

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  4. I had a kitten that loved to chew on my pinky finger. Alas, the effect was not the same as being swallowed by a lion. After all, I could still answer my phone.

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  5. she wished to be the stars....I love that. Women do have the power in the end, don't they :) ?

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  6. Another modern fairy tale, a myth in the making.

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  7. She wished to be the stars so strong and thank you so much for sharing this poem I so enjoyed it

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  8. I'll just nod and agree..haha very nice write and yes we just pretend to have some control.

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  9. Interesting who ends up in charge! But where was the premarital counseling? And I thought the Defense of Marriage act prohibited... oh, that's right, it was just same-gender adults. Animals and dead people weren't included, despite conservative warnings.

    You crack me up, yet this has too much truth in it to truly be all fun. Happy dversity, Amy
    http://sharplittlepencil.wordpress.com/2011/08/30/third-eye-of-the-sightless-woman-dverse/

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  10. A bit frightening of the outcome to the guy! We just have to endure. Beautiful verse!

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  11. Candi McIntosh is swallowed by a tiger.
    Now, she can compose herself and think what to do
    Without his snow and caramel face turning her to goo.

    Had me like a baby duck waddling along behind you, willing to follow you wherever you may go. Fantastic: the imagery, the delicious, pernicious playfulness of it all. You made me laugh out loud at the wedding scene. Thank you. Also, in case you didn't see I greatly appreciate you reading Exit Wound, I filed your comment in my heart where all my favorite comments live :).

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  12. Oh this is glorious to read and must have been even more so to write! I loved the great soft paws walking across the sky......and ESPECIALLY him marking the pews and lunging at the minister at the wedding. I dont know how you come up with these outrageously perfect tales. But I am sure darned glad you do! It makes my world so much richer.

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  13. Can't keep a good girl down - inside our out! LOL

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  14. i want to move into your mind. just for a day so that i can borrow {steal} all of your discarded ideas.

    i truly have no words to describe this poem, your talent, your imagination, my utter enjoyment in reading what you write...

    {sigh} thank you, Shay! ♥ d

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  15. Oooh Shay. How I have missed your words. So good. Like chocolates. I ate them all :)
    X

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  16. You can't help it but be gorgeous!

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  17. as rich as those chocolates as smooth as the caramel ..

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  18. I loved the power shifts in this poem. Well done...

    Your poetry is always wonderful, but my favorite part of it is when I stumble on the humor and find a quick giggle escaping my lips. These lines did this for me today,

    "The wedding was marred
    By his insistence upon marking all the pews
    And by his repeated lunging at the minister..."

    I always think humor is what saves our souls.

    How's life treating you? Say hi to Bosco for me:~)

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  19. I find this positively inspirational!

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  20. Oooo! His snow and caramel face - LOVE it... but there's more.
    I have enjoyed reading it as magical realism, all the while aware of the darker message you have imparted within the layers of this doomed relationship.
    Such a mind you have!

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  21. I like that he got chocolates. :)

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  22. Indeed! We rule the world...from inside and out! I sell most my houses using the simple statement...Happy Wife, Happy Life ;) I really think we've let the boys play far to long at the global playground...time for us to really show 'em what we got. The games and illusions we've let them play at are growing quite tiresome! ;) Oh...did I say awesome write...color me all fired up!

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  23. Don't know how you keep doing it, but you blew me away again. This was fantastic!!!

    More please,
    xo jj

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  24. Wow, what a tale (tail?)! The Lady Or the Tiger becomes The Lady In the Tiger!

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  25. Something like a poetic Native American tale. Something like fabulous.

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Spirit, what do you wish to tell us?