Saturday, April 24, 2010

midway through velvet incarceration

The boyish facade of that dynastic king
promises a pyramid of facsimile amusement,
a lame gold mask that falsely tames the rural mile,
and royally tenders the shrieking greens of spring.

What is drawn from the sapphire clouds
is also condensed in a spooky window:
a solo pine cone alone is spared in view
atop the hallowed spokes of spiral rubber.

Sycophantic circus freaks shuffle at last,
worshiping the retro karaoke of pecking divas,
at last the howls of where and squeals of when
are burst from the belly of a bulging tomb:

welcome to the threshold of banality.

Spun in a syrupy four part stigmata
odd sockets of the savior's sugary skull
have ceased to be a harmony that soothes.

Little Tina's sweet shoppe is barely stocked,
but emotions run high when the carny's in town.

27 comments:

  1. YOUR IMAGERY FASCINATES ME FRIEND, VERY GOOD POEM, AS PER NORMAL :)

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  2. Carnivals and circuses always held such high promise for me as a kid, only to be great let-downs once actually experienced. Maybe my imagination was too active. I don't know if that's the banality waiting across the threshold here, but that's what this evoked for me quite vividly.

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  3. this draws to mind the fantastical, of lights and carousels, large wheels in the sky.
    then, at the end of the night,
    wind blown grounds of litter and the carny workers, the sad faced clowns.

    life IS a carnival!

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  4. Gosh, I'm scared of the carny!

    Spun in a syrupy four part stigmata
    odd sockets of the savior's sugary skull.....wow.

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  5. @william: cheers!

    @Francis: Ditto. Much like a corn-dog will always let you down.

    @all: great, i guess this worked then.

    @willow: don't be afraid, they come, terrify, and move on.

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  6. ha! Gerry, this evokes the HBO
    mini-series, do you know
    the one?

    i particularly like:
    "The boyish facade of that dynastic king
    promises a pyramid of facsimile amusement,"
    it is reminiscent of something ...

    and i'm a quite curious of:
    "Little Tina's sweet shoppe is barely stocked,
    but emotions run high when the carny's in town."

    all of it meanders
    nicely ... as alway
    a great treat to read.

    (btw, i thought i dropped
    a line yesterday, blogger
    must have eaten it,
    it does that sometimes)

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  7. @Nox: Don't really watch much tele, so I can't guess. To meander though the words is a great compliment. Thanks. Didn't see anything yesterday, go figure. Blogger, well you can't beat the price, right?

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  8. Freaky, Gerry... to say the least! But I sometimes wonder if we're not all circus freaks, in one way or the other?

    Nevine

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  9. @Nevine: Sure, I celebrate my freakiness. It's a rational adaptation to the circus of reality.

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  10. loved the stigmata line...very reminescent of sugar skulls for dia de los meurtos in mexico

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  11. @Angel-Starr: Thanks. Yeah, I had that vibe in mind, if only tangentially. Welcome.

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  12. Gerry,
    A very evocative image fell before my eyes. I hate clowns and carnival imagery. But it was all there before me. Scary and very noisey!!
    Eileen

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  13. @Eileen: My evil plot has succeeded!

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  14. I've always thought it one of the most perfect subjects for poetry (or art) and you have taken full advantage. A fine, strong poem.

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  15. @Dave: Yeah, the metaphorical possibilities scream like a barker. Cheers.

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  16. Sapphire clouds and sugary skulls are my favorite! I've always wanted to join the circus!
    xoxo

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  17. @lesinfin: "Off to join the circus!" is a liberating and fantastical cry, is it not?

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  18. Carnivals have a dark side. But a circus now, at least for the audience, is excitement.

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  19. @TechnoBabe: Circus, carnival, reality. Differentiation is futile.

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  20. Hallo Gerry,

    ich bin beeindruckt!

    Herzlich, Rachel

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  21. Creeeeak, she gingerly opened the door here, and rightly so.

    "Howls of when and squeaks of where...burst" *shudder*. Well done.

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  22. Wonderful side show of a poem.

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  23. @W&W: I think you found the correct "eek" center of the poem. Thx.

    @Kass: Thanks and welcome. The idea of a side-show is spot-on.

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  24. those last two lines: sublime.

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  25. "royally tenders the shrieking greens of spring"

    I'd steal this from you, you know.

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  26. @Megan: Steal away, my friend, steal away.

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Yes?