Behold, the terrible housefly--
followers crowd its
compound eye;
maggot
turned
Caesar.
Wonder
Bread
must contain
a tame god
bleeding a very thin wine
building bland believers twelve ways, Sundays before noon.
September
Gina,
do you
remember orange evening
in my little garage apartment
hardly big enough for birds, or a bed?
You were 36 and settled as high summer;
outside my windows, the moon
was your twin--
brightly lit,
silently
knowing.
_______
Excellent as always... in the winding winds of love like that leopard in the stream of flowing water posted here can we count the spots - I doubt if it were not one's spirit animal or we felt like we could catch the falling stars from the milky sky.
ReplyDeleteDear readers: I realized after i wrote it and did the post and all, that "Caesar" is two syllables, when the line called for only one, but I'm not changing it now. I sowwy.
ReplyDeleteoh, yeah. i caught the caesar slip, for sure. ;)
ReplyDeleteThese are really sharp and lucid examples of what can be done with this odd little form--as always, Shay, when you turn your hand to it, you can find the strengths of any form.
ReplyDeleteI for one wouldn't have noticed the Caesar thing either, since I've been reading so many that are word-counted--and it's perfect the way it stands, a dazzling, macabre and mordant little picture-poem to scare children(and me.)I love that you turned the form on its head for this one.
The second is the kind of dry satire in which you always excel, with just enough of an acid undertone to bite hard, and the last seems so much more fluid than the form would suggest it could be at first--it's almost like a melody on the edge of hearing, the past and present swelling and receding,a soft mental rain falling in its own wax-wane rhythm. Thank you for putting so much into these--each one truly shines.
I love the third poem - sweet story. I'd love to have that house and car!
ReplyDeleteInimitably you. I appreciated the second - the Shakespeare reference (more or less) and the satire tears at a favorite target of mine. The last is tender, the first so smart.
ReplyDeleteAll great FB, but the last two really got me~ The Wonder bread made me smile and the last one so endearing! ;D Bravo!
ReplyDelete"...settled as high summer." What a line.
ReplyDeleteFrom the small but pesky fly to the big spiritual question to the grass roots of the intimate moment spiced with some lemon/orange satire. Love the whirl of sensations and images.
ReplyDeleteI love this form
ReplyDeleteand 21 is so wonderful
i could put that in my mouth :)
When I saw you had written some form poems for us, I expected a subtle sarcasm, and the content of the first two did not disappoint. The third is perfectly beautiful.
ReplyDeleteoooh that last one.
ReplyDeleteliked all three, totally different flavors. the 2nd one is funny, having grown up a catholic.
ReplyDeleteYou and Kelly would have gotten along fine, I suspect. She cursed a whole fkn lot, though. I mean, a LOT. It was hilarious. And people either loved her... or freaking could NOT stand her, since she'd say what she thought, period endofstory and don't even think about arguing. damn.
caeser, tsar, czar...?
Shay, you never disappoint.
ReplyDeleteK
Country Club Christ is my fave ... in a streak of rebellion many years ago ~ went to mass in boots a long coat and nothing else. Came home and made Wonder Bread sandwiches for the kids!
ReplyDeleteHow in the hell did you manage to pull these from that form? Damn.
ReplyDeleteHa! Yeppers, that is one of the most amazing transformations, maggot to ceasar, limited vision to mighty! And I was totally happy with this one before moving on to "Wonder bread"
ReplyDelete"Bleeding ... bland believers ..." and was Laughing Out Loud. And then the last sobered me ...who could ever forget such an orange evening with the moon a twin who to the lady? I do not know why it is "21" unless someone won/lost at gambling.
Shay,
ReplyDeleteYou are a true rebel, putting a two syllable word in a line that calls for one. I must report you to the Goddess of Forms, who will mete out your punishment. I suspect it will be a thorough study of classical haiku and a spell upon you in which you can only speak in haiku form. I am so sorry.
"maggot turned Caesar" ha! That reverse fib of 21 is so lovely.
ReplyDelete