THE MERMAID'S CALLING CARD
The winter blinks its eyes coquettish
then faints as all dreams do at last--
I've saved you flower, fin, and fetish--
all you had to do was ask.
_______
PHINEAS, BACK FROM THE WAR
Phineas comes back from the war
carrying a blood-rain cloud in a folded handkerchief.
The only things he will eat anymore
are fresh-caught birds and escargot--
one slows his speech,
the other is anesthetic.
Phineas wears glasses with smoked lenses
and declares it dusk at all times of day.
I bring him his infant child--
he shakes its hand and turns away.
Later, his medals appear
in the crib, like ribboned toys.
Such fine writing, Shay. The father home from the war describes its impact so well.
ReplyDeleteThese are just exquisite, Shay. I absolutely love The Mermaid's Calling Card! So provocative and effortless. And I can't help but feel so sorry for Phineas, he feels so haunted. p.s. always love your tags too!
ReplyDeleteI love the first poem especially, and its last stanza is exquisite. The second is also masterly, full of nuance and depth. It's hard for a noncombatant to realize the full extent of the impact of combat; vague sympathy at best is what seems to be offered to those who have been shattered by it, and too many times, that isn't enough. This poem goes under the surface to show, not tell, how it might be to live in that state of disconnection and that last line! Superb writing, Shay.
ReplyDeleteI love the marriage of winter and mermaid in metaphor!
ReplyDeleteThe second one is just so, so brilliant. Wow.
As always you have stuck us with your imagery in such a deep way Shay. Both poems are rich, raw, and beautiful!!
ReplyDeleteBewitched by your writing, as always. Medals. They should have been toys in the first place.
ReplyDelete