William Mortensen (1897-1965) 'Nude with Demon', from the series "A Pictorial Compendium of Witchcraft", circa 1926-1927 © - - - - |
la poema fa mangiare per sé
(if I convert my infidelities into a sack of acorns and a
back-pocketed slingshot will the trees need to be
worshipped as much as getting high on the female
form)
well, you are not what you seem
tall in the mirror mirror dome
are you really tall or has the lead glass
wept in slow tides past homes you once knew
you belonged inside warm and waiting on Winter
I kneaded myself
towards sanitarium plans
I was yeasty, my mind
grew up and down
bubble, spit and crown
I couldn't stop
the whitewash chorus
of voices piercing
their flights I fight them
wave after wave
against rocks, abandoned cars
and shipwrecked piers
wholly peeling memories
disguised as landscapes
of vaguely familiar silhouettes
the sins and regrets
turned graffiti that seemed to know
I was talking to myself
should I jump from a bridge
or eat a bullet
after all this is America
and we got enough guns
to solve our obesity, class wars,
poverty and over-population
in fell swoop of suicides...
growing old is no longer an elegant thrive
assisted living is jive turkey prison training wheels,
canes and walkers and the inspirations
are dimming for me...
I check myself in, to see if those
are streetlights, souls or the way I used to be
skinned tight in the tanneries
of my despair and poisonous regard
for anything that makes me happy...
do I know what does make me happy
have I ever known this
or am I an empty calorie and kiss
a moth headed to a fiery end
seeking whether these vignettes
are cupboard-bare and dare
cones of lights
or skimmed froth
from dreams
I once thought I had...
the shadows are forests
of want, they are nothing more
than human forms we once
called, each of our lives...
the symptoms and symphonies
are the sounds the leaves make
they are free will selling out, they know
what compels you to do what you do
and their recorded histories
are the rituals we repeat
life after life
<addendum>
is civilized humanity supposed to fail
does scrutiny and mutiny
go so often hand and hand
that this land has to be governed
by a surveillance culture
with its attaches that can manipulate
the waves of grain and immigrants
is everything fed to the grinder
do the sausage makers delight
in every new recruit
is the solution always a veneer
where the sick and tired
the old, infirmed and weak
become the miracle
the plenty, the fish
and the loaves of bread...
in this land
of your land
and my land
will we have to hide
behind snide delight
in order not to fight...?
the walls of stone and
high mounted security posts
are keeping the crushing throngs
outside the gates
thank god
I don't want
to share today...
"soylent green" was a movie once
where they told a tale
about the miracle of food
being made from people
does feeding people people
after the Earth says no more
to the farmers and their ilk
give us reason not to treason
a divine purpose...?
are those who would patent seeds
and genetic structures
squeezing death for profit
can we be a proud face
where grace once was
can we find a place
where shadows go to remember
they too, need light to grow...?
EJR ©
I like the way the pose of the woman and the devil almost match in the pic, and I like the two poems that follow.
ReplyDeleteSkimmed froth from dreams I thought I had...very nice imagery.
ReplyDeletethis is darker than most I have ever read, a very dark future laying ahead. I do not hope we will eat each other, though I think we almost have done that..
ReplyDeleteThis is so intense!!
ReplyDeleteLove the ambition in this poem Edward - lots of power and strong original lines from someone who clearly has lived and danced both in the light and with the devil too... Interesting writing... With Best Wishes Scott www.scotthastie.com
ReplyDeleteDark and rather hopeless poem here, a sensibility scraped almost raw, with some startling imagery. Very interesting.
ReplyDeleteFinding what makes us happy is an endless and moveable fest..but i hope we always try...a powerful poem
ReplyDeleteTruly it is about
ReplyDeletenaked balance..
hide the fruit
and trees
struggle
to reproduce
more.. when
fruit is
plentiful
balance
comes..
it's time
to get
naked
and dance
my friend..
but
few
can see
the simple
FREeDom of
Truth and Light
to that eternal
solution..
to
Human
Life..
Naked
kills
the
Devil
history
shows
this time
and time
again..
only the real
devils clothe humans
in ways of fear
restricting
clothing..:)
No, "growing old is no longer an elegant thrive." In fact, most of life seems pretty dismal from this point of view...but I can't blame you. Just don't linger there very long...it will not serve you.
ReplyDelete