is all this place needs.
Just some spray cleaner and big black bible to wave around,
and everything here could be restored to its original middling banality.
Come in, come stagger down the staircase clutching your left arm.
We'll throw a party,
invite the mayor,
the cognoscenti,
and EMS.
Feel free to collapse on the piano bench.
Just blow that dust right off the keys and play!
I've always liked Percy Grainger's Country Gardens,
but if you don't know it, just bang away at the keys with your elbows
and we'll manage a dance.
Peach, I can see by the look on your face
that you think this is wasted effort.
Trust me. Just spit on the sleeve of your dress
and use it to wipe a circle of clarity on one of these lovely old windows.
Let the half-light and fog in,
as you fall to the floor in one of your fits.
I've been at this business for a while,
and I always bring spare keys and smelling salts.
Look at the ad!
"Motivated seller, no reasonable offer refused".
Let me call their agent.
We can be at her office in half an hour--
me at my professional best,
and you giddy and rambling in light restraints.
Then, in a week or two,
after the fire, but before the funeral,
I will breeze in with a housewarming gift especially for the new mistress--
Beelzebub on a chain,
ringing a bicycle bell and
asking, despite his slight speech impediment, which room is to be his.
_________
Thus another sale is racked in hell. One can only imagine the closing "after the fire, but before the funeral" as attended by demon clerks and signed with a rictus snake. Eek. Charming dude, this Devil.
ReplyDeleteThe sense of disintegration here is what strikes me first. Of a building which is not quite a home, of a relationship that curdles and curls up its toes, of a mind that peoples itself with ghosts and devils. After that comes the dark beauty of the emotional painting you give us. A haunted and haunting piece, Shay, that brings a shiver and a sudden inexplicable blast of supernatural cold.
ReplyDeleteI think some realtors are like attorneys. Like this one--they may be working for you, but they're not really on your side. This place needs the wrecking ball, of course, which your poem most certainly is. Smashing in the most awe-inducing way.
ReplyDeleteThis just gets better and better in each stanza. What starts as maybe just a fixer-upper gets us the full-haunted house experience with the devil picking out his room. Masterfully done, but "and you giddy and rambling in light restraints" is just a nightmare howl, LOL!
ReplyDeleteAn amazement of lines and descriptions no one but you could imagine or write. Loved the ones about the companion the best: "as you fall to the floor in one of your fits" and "you giddy and rambling in light restraints." Fantastic!
ReplyDeleteYou made me chuckle with this:
ReplyDelete"Just some spray cleaner and big black bible to wave around,
and everything here could be restored to its original middling banality."
And then it continues in and ever-increasing atmosphere of tension - bloody love how you develop characters in so few words, and with such a perfectly resolved ending. Let me know when it's turned into a film so I can go watch it :)
I love the way you can build a poem and take us to the top of the building or down the haunted hall; as only you can do Shay! You always use imagery in such a brilliant way! The lines at the end made me smile thinking of The Shining! It also made me think of my older house cleaning days; one lady would always say just give that room a lick and a promise. Amazing writing as always Shay!
ReplyDelete