Monday, May 18, 2009

when wry goes horribly awry

I tried to buy your silk-screen,
but mommy wanted milk:
I only needed glasses
'cause me lennies was feckin' fucked.

I squinted through the reckless lines
of inky greed on fabric.

It's easy to love the raining coppers,
but the patina takes too long.

I never studied physics
but I heard about the neutron:
I heard things other things, too.

I was a child soot painted
and crawling on mine skinned knees,
working through the shadowy nave,
hoping to find a candled altar
where that green-blue rust was true.

From your words and your words only,
I was able to struggle, fully hod,
into the crimson light of day.

Can a brother get a witness
and a bartered square of soap?

There are moments
and moments, again,
that call you home.

All art freezes time,
even the mostly easiest,
the shudder click of rhyme.

14 comments:

  1. Gerry, shit, I find I am unable to ride the coattails of those before me as there haven't been. Always lost in a void here, but such cool words and phrases float around. Seriously, Gerry 101 is a must. Who are you Gerry Boyd? Would that help me understand your poetry better. I swear, I am only partly moron, but here I am on a very short bench and I don't know how to tie my shoes.

    I can tell you this. I'm still trying to break apart the first stanza. What are lemmies? Love, love this, "I squinted through the reckless lines of inky greed on fabric." Makes me want to wear a scarf over my head tomorrow and try to see a little more clearly than this particular line.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Ah, this strongly coded. I am still brainstorming to get it right.

    Very well-written, as always.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Blue-green rust. An artful patina.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I’m loving the play on words in the title!

    What an awry wry concoction of poetry and patter :)

    ReplyDelete
  5. WIAW: Just go with it. To parse it is to destroy it.

    Bros: Thanks. Please lift words for lyrics if you ever fell so inclined. I don't care about copyright.

    Jason: Thx for noticing.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Welcome CathM: I think you've got it!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Hi Gerry,

    I really enjoy your style: playful, light and dark at the same time, the sense of melody, the imagery!

    The meaning of the last stanza feels so essential and important.

    Thanks indeed for visiting my blog. Now I am glad to have found your site and will be a follower of your blog.

    Cheers,

    Jenny

    ReplyDelete
  8. i saw this when you posted it. i forgot what i was going to say just then. something about seeing it and wanting to comment... ...

    Well, let me say i don't have to understand; that is not important. what is important is that I found your work pleasant and look forward to more.

    on this one I enjoy phrases that fall in from nowhere, like: you heard about the neutron, that delights. keep up the good work.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Thanks mr. sender for your very kind words.

    ReplyDelete
  10. I feel like I'm sprinting with this...the pace is phenomenally quick...I like it!

    ReplyDelete
  11. The comment above was meant for the next poem down...I'm such a dum-dum!

    ReplyDelete
  12. holly: no problem. no-one is more challenged than me. it's a wonder I can even tie my shoes. thx for the kind words.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Jenny: thx. By Jove, I suspect you get it.

    ReplyDelete
  14. a bartered square of soap-for some reason that was a key for me to greater appreciation of the whole. Can't pretend to understand all but maybe the motive in the tempo. ~rick

    ReplyDelete

Yes?