Was this some kind of French gag?
All my stuff in a dumbshow around me.
Paraphernalia patting at invisible walls--
quelle stupide!
A standard poodle carrying a canoe on its back
became part of my milieu.
I fed it aphorisms as we set off downstream.
Eventually, after long exhausting effort,
the poodle and I arrived back at my milieu.
The poodle up and spake:
"Life is circular. The end is the beginning."
I brained it with a paddle to make it shut up,
then composed a letter of complaint.
So. Here is my milieu, with me in it,
holding my letter,
openly weeping,
hoping to impress you.
Have I failed?
Or, is your heart a stone, part of its own milieu
where love languishes, calling out, dying,
Like an actress on stage
with the plum role in Camille?
Elle est morte, and yet she lives on, superfluous.
________
for Day 2 of my 39 poems in 39 days.
I am so happy you're doing this. <3
ReplyDeleteLove this part --
"The poodle up and spake:
'Life is circular. The end is the beginning.'
I brained it with a paddle to make it shut up,
then composed a letter of complaint."
Beautiful --
"So. Here is my milieu, with me in it,
holding my letter,
openly weeping,
hoping to impress you."
So I'm doing this strange reading because of my flare for word-twisting. Inside "milieu," I see "mother-in-law ooh/ew" -- like the speaker is at her MIL's house, feeling out of sorts, conflicted about how to relate/connect with her. All the decoratives, the poodle.
I love, love, love imagining the MIL in poor health, heart issues, having been a courtesan (or imagining herself as one). I know this reading is nothing at all like what you intended, but I'm enjoying picturing the scene. :)
So is that where Moulin Rouge came from? I didn't know ... Of course I love that movie, and all things Nicole Kidman. <3
I can relate to being superfluous, I suppose --- in hopes that being "extra" and "too much" might bring smiles, laughs, and/or entertained head-shakes to some, particularly my babies.
French farce seems to be another form you've mastered. This one of course, is spiced with just enough zest of the surreal to bring a wry smile, even as the images trek their circular way back to a milieu that both contradicts and confines. The poodle is a stand out, and how all our wounded hearts love to play Camille, regardless of whether the person intended is watching the performance.
ReplyDeleteHilarious. The poodle with a canoe on its back, "Here is my milieu, with me in it." Cackling.
ReplyDeleteI love the intertwining of the dramatic and forelorn. Every stanza it's own carnival ride! Another true gem Shay!!
ReplyDelete"I found myself in a milieu." Very interesting. Opens into so many non-obvious ways, some of which you looped loopy through and through. The poodle pushing away its bowl of aphorisms, not eating that! Where's my treat! There are no bad dogs, only bad, superfluous French plays,
ReplyDelete