but mine is loose by nature.
I had things I needed to say to you, and so I have included them
in private prayers by moonlight,
in court documents,
and mixed invisibly with sugar inside of envelopes sent via post.
I see you there,
on your front step, handing out the same bulimic claptrap to reporters
that's offered to your lovers in intimate moments.
You talk and talk, but say nothing--
the reporters starve, weaken, expire on the lawn, wondering how they failed.
I told a few lies, I admit.
Otherwise, the police photographer would never have followed you,
and the polygraph examiner would stand idle, tempted by devils.
The credits are rolling--
this is the time to confess or taunt or break down. You know the drill,
and yet you keep spare judges in drawers in every room,
to issue gag orders across the board at a moment's notice.
For the sake of all that was good, and soft, and funny
between us, say something, please.
Write a tell-all, despite the prohibited proceeds.
Bargain a statement in trade for a change of venue.
Let Old Sparky spur us
to get it all out at last.
We can circle it, like dizzy ballerinas,
Me imploring you to talk,
to open your everlastingly miserly fucking mouth at last,
and you
begging me to shut up,
for once,
for novelty,
for the love of God,
shut up.
______
for Skyflower Friday--"goodbye"
How often those we become the most inflamed for embody all the traits we can't handle, or understand, are our opposites not in a good way that attracts, but a bad way that mauls and eventually repels. You walk that jungle clearing here like the big cat you are(when you're not a ballerina, of course) spinning a cautionary tale that chills the heart--the finish has me remembering an oldie: 'hey, that's no way/ to say goodbye.."
ReplyDeleteShay, I can't tell you how much I love this. I could take the last to stanzas and post them to someone and have them be exceptionally relevant and on point. You tap into the collective consciousness in a way that is entirely your own.
ReplyDeleteOops** last TWO stanzas..
ReplyDelete^^^^Thank you both!!!
ReplyDeleteI love the circling, like dizzy ballerinas.......I can feel the power in the wish for all to be revealed, and also feel the pulse in your powerful closing lines.
ReplyDeleteI love these:
ReplyDelete"I had things I needed to say to you, and so I have included them
in private prayers by moonlight"
"and yet you keep spare judges in drawers in every room"
This poem reminds me of why the last two words in title of your latest book good so well with your poetry--your words are often on fire, they make the soul want to scream (but the burning is tortuously good). I'm with Kerry, the final stanzas are... heart-pumping.
ReplyDeleteLove how you tied the pain of parting in that legal proceedings. Somehow it reminded me of Jandyce and Jandyce in Bleak House... a parting that becomes indefinite always fed by the courtroom and battling...
ReplyDeleteStrange, sometimes I can always find a story in Dickens to refer to.
For fuck's sake say something, rant, rave, but don't let all that was become mute... Oh, I feel this. It is so hard to want words, something, anything, but silence.
ReplyDeleteYou have great poetic instincts and a smart magpie ear!
ReplyDeleteLove the way you've taken a well-known cliched saying and turned it into something original and fresh, Shay.I especially love the cloaked acidity in the lines:
ReplyDelete'I had things I needed to say to you, and so I have included them
in private prayers by moonlight,
in court documents,
and mixed invisibly with sugar inside of envelopes sent via post'.
Love this, there is a lot of fire and intensity in this poem. Especially this; "I had things I needed to say to you, and so I have included them in private prayers by moonlight" says it all. Beautifully executed.
ReplyDeleteI'm happy to know the cat never has your tongue and that your creative mind is forever free to express itself. Your poetry is something that needs to be read more than once and the mental pictures become more real (or surreal) each time. Love this one, chica!
ReplyDeleteNothing but love for you and all this is good, soft, and funny. hugs
ReplyDeleteall that is good (though "this" is good too) ... takes her awkward exit
ReplyDeleteYour voice is always unique - challenging, rarely with regrets, just a moving on tone that speaks of strength and determination. And a truth that most people hide from.
ReplyDelete