like a big, drunken, bearded midwife,
with ambition his doula.
Black butterflies rise,
holding up the gaudy double eagle,
and they are the carriers of the souls of the thousands
who died to build St. Petersburg.
Everything had to be brought in--
breath of lumber, breath of bricks
to bring the cry of creation to this muddy shore.
Now, Tatiana stands by the window.
Beyond her, the majesty of architecture--
the bold, solid embodiment of a giant's vision.
Tatiana wears very little.
She is curved, like the earth.
She doesn't know her Czars from her motorcars,
but she is well aware
that when she stands there like this,
the magnificence outside the window may as well not even be there.
It melts, the admirer's eye already full with better design.
She conquers the way the Moon does,
inevitably,
with desire and insanity,
and with only as much blood as may be needed
in order to get the job done.
________
for Isadora's challenge at Real Toads.
I have no idea if the photograph is actually of a place in St Petersburg, but it looks as if it could be.
Regardless of the origins of the picture, you took us to a place and time and asked us to consider the human effort, and its waste in the face of human passion and love. I think you give the best history lessons, Ma'am.
ReplyDeletenicely woven.
ReplyDeleteI'm in awe of women possessing this kind of raw power!!!
ReplyDeleteFantabulous, Shay! The title misled me somewhat, but then you pulled off Izy's "melting" prompt with skill, ease, and humor.
ReplyDeleteI am ashamed, however, to admit I visited St. Petersburg without giving a thought to the people whose lives went into the construction thereof.
In Rome it is easy to think of slaves long dead under the Roman sun, but in the chill of the north of Russia such lives go unremembered, while the palaces they built are admired and applauded.
K
You tell the best stories. One rarely thinks about the human cost of building such structures in days when everything was done by hand. It's cool you made us think about that.
ReplyDeleteA poem worth many reads! Enjoyed the history in your poem.
ReplyDeleteI like this--solid and concrete yet philosophical as well.
ReplyDeleteJ'Adore the photograph and this last verse especially:
ReplyDelete"She conquers the way the Moon does,
inevitably,
with desire and insanity,
and with only as much blood as may be needed
in order to get the job done."
You rock, Ms. Moon-Poet!! xo
She conquers the way the Moon does,
ReplyDeleteinevitably,
with desire and insanity,
and with only as much blood as may be needed
in order to get the job done....Wow! This lady has power! Fantastic piece!
Shay, love the picture of you, hee hee.
ReplyDeleteYour lines, "Peter...,
like a big, drunken, bearded midwife,
with ambition his doula," struck me because I know a doula and the idea of her being a big drunken man just slayed me.
Just as African slaves built most of America, so St. Petersburg was built by people whose lives were considered cheap. People's value should be based partly on their hard work, but mostly on the dignity with which they treat others. Thus, Peter comes out looking very bad, having done none of his own work and treating others like pack mules. Ditto America with African-Americans.
Potent poem, Shay. Amy
I'm in awe not only by the architecture in the Pic and the seductive beauty of this female figure but also in equal 'aweness' of your creative writing.
ReplyDeleteGracias!
i despise women who have a space between their thighs like that. maybe she's anorexic ~ her arms look thin, too. skinny little smug bitch!
ReplyDeletenice poem, though. {grin}
♥
You know you would have me at st. petersburg, no? But there is so much else here. I love the and second stanza's building up Peter and the city. Double props for likening him to a big drunken midwife. And then enter tatiana, she who is curved like the earth and does not know here czars from her motorcars.
ReplyDeleteThere is a duality here, but clearly one side has more heft and pull. Great work, as always! Viva la my dear friend.
You took me in a journey wit this poem Shay and I love the picture...
ReplyDeleteIncredible imagery, and your way with characters shines as well, both in the czar birthing his city, and in your lovely vision-woman. If I were a quoter, I'd be slapping down every other line here, but the last five are just stunning. Amazing handling of a prompt that I thought very difficult, almost impossible--but you make it seem easy, as always.
ReplyDeleteWell written and perfect picture to go with.
ReplyDeleteI am often at a loss at how to comment on your work Shay. As in this instance, I sit here with my mouth hanging open thinking…w-o-w… Can ‘wow’ cut it if I go brain dead oogling over your words?
ReplyDeleteI’ll try. Your opening stanza to me exemplifies one of the things that you do so well. You put two things together we never would have thought would go together, blasting our brain cells--and wah-lah…genius.
The history you remind us of is so poignant and well told, but there’s Tatiana and she steals the show, and thus your point is made.
So, wow. Ha :-)
A truly powerful woman (and written by one, too!)
ReplyDeleteThe wealth from the double eagle and what it can control and buy. The kept woman named Tatiana who understands only what her beauty holds over her keeper. She has no feelings for the lost souls because she was not taught to feel. She gives only and with no feeling what she must. Survival!
ReplyDeleteJust my take on a tantalizing story!
"She is curved, like the earth."
ReplyDeleteI love the way this moves.
I'm going to e-mail you my response. :)
ReplyDeleteOkay. Now I'm back to tell you my favorite lines. :)
ReplyDelete"with ambition his doula"
"Black butterflies rise" ... I love this to the nth degree.
"holding up the gaudy double eagle"
"breath of lumber"
"Tatiana wears very little.
She is curved, like the earth.
She doesn't know her Czars from her motorcars,
but she is well aware" ... Stop looking in my window. ;)
~~~~~~~~~~
Okay, now this enters an entirely different category of poetry; you seriously upped your game here:
"when she stands there like this,
the magnificence outside the window may as well not even be there."
"It melts, the admirer's eye already full with better design."
"She conquers the way the Moon does,"
"inevitably,
with desire and insanity,"
"and with only as much blood as may be needed"
"in order to get the job done."
And although what I quoted above is technically one chunk of fluid text, I read its magnificence in six different pieces of fabulosity for slow-intake emphasis.
Bravo, girlie. Impressive work. Vacation is treating you well, once again.
btw I misspelled 'oogling' and 'wah-lah' in which to accentuate my brain deadness, but I got to thinking I did not want you to really think me an ignoramus! So ogling and voilà ...
ReplyDeleteHave a great day Shay :-)
doesnt matter if it is or not ... as long as in your brilliant creative mind it inspires
ReplyDelete