set each half its teeth in my heart;
having given such rare food to feed them,
it killed me to tear them apart.
The shepherd with spectacles woolen,
was convinced he certainly dreamed them;
while his damned bloody blindness emboldened
two wolves with but three eyes between them.
As Mistress, I sanctioned the pasture
for concealing the Moon and the Stars;
but the Sun, in league with the Master,
set each half its teeth in my heart.
The cook baked her devils some sheep's heads
from her oven she built in the deep den;
then she served herself with their sweetbreads,
having given such rare food to feed them.
My wolfish love with the Master
set hooks through the meat of our hearts;
when our opposite tempers tugged faster,
it killed me to tear them apart.
_______
For Hedgewitch's excellent mini-challenge at Real Toads!
When you do a form, you do not fool around. You write poetry.
ReplyDeleteAs I read, my jaw kept dropping and I had to remember to push it back up--the first stanza is just killer--perfect for what you did with it, putting us there in a bloodchilling ritual of dark spells and sacrifice. I was about to say the third stanza was my favorite, then I reread the second, and then the whole thing again--there's no picking a single element--it's just too tightly constructed, one single crossbolt through the heart by the end. Above and beyond the language, the insights you always bring about love and loss in all its shapeshifting forms are no less penetrating here. I have so many favorites of yours, but this just moved to the top of the list.
Thank you so much Shay, for all the work and soul you put into this,(even though it seems to be effortless, and flows perfectly, seamless and smooth) --it certainly was worth it for this reader.
Wow! Complex, deep and impressive. Disturbing imagery.
ReplyDeleteall sorts of fairy tales gone wrong here...
ReplyDeleteWow. Beyond belief. So way out there Fantastic, there are no more words.
ReplyDeleteYikes! You gave me goosebumps with this one. Wow.
ReplyDeletejj
Starts off brilliant and only gets better! I adore the last two stanzas. Wow, Shay!
ReplyDeleteThis is amazing! You make it look effortless.
ReplyDeleteaaahhhhhh this is just excellent. this is a really difficult form, and you! you! kick it to the curb and weave a tale of the heart. amazing.
ReplyDeletealso? i dig lupines. very nice.
Form AND rhyme and meter in one fabulous spell of a poem!
ReplyDelete"Two wolves with but three eyes between them
ReplyDeleteset each half its teeth in my heart;
having given such rare food to feed them,
it killed me to tear them apart."
Such delight and perfection!!!!!!!
you turn me on
Sending YOU Aloha
from Honolulu,
Comfort Spiral
~ > < } } ( ° >
Deep and raw!
ReplyDeleteI love it~
YOU do make it seem effortless, but I know it was not~ Bravo
Spectacular!
ReplyDeleteArghhh! That first stanza is superlatively constructed, and in my opinion only surpassed by this one:
As Mistress, I sanctioned the pasture
for concealing the Moon and the Stars;
but the Sun, in league with the Master,
set each half its teeth in my heart.
Two wolves with only three eyes between them.... *turns tail, slinks off and wonders how, oh how does she come up with these lines...*
This is a tale that grips and sets the teeth clenching with awe ~
ReplyDeleteLovely work on the form Shay ~
.... 'as Mistress, I sanctioned the pasture for concealing the Moon and the Stars' ... I believe YOU could.
ReplyDeletethis is so powerful, starting with the first image just hitting you like a nightmare, and then the whole thing being so mythical. just beautiful
ReplyDeletejourney with a new friend
Powerful from the first stanza and each one built on the last perfectly. It is so powerful in it imagery. Again I must bow to your talent.
ReplyDeleteI find myself turning down my music so I can better concentrate on your poems. This was was morbidly beautiful!
ReplyDeleteA kind of horror scene !
ReplyDeleteRun fast, hiding under the bed !!
This piece is so crazy good. I love the duality in meaning of ‘lupines’ which adds an extra element to it for me. I'm really in awe of your writing Shay. Freaking wow.
ReplyDeleteit killed me to tear them apart ... i love this refrain
ReplyDeleteSet each part its teeth in my heart- brilliant, disturbing, but then, so's the rest of this. I read it over and over and hardly knew where to begin in response.
ReplyDelete