One way to be in the world
is to live jerk furtive
in the quick store carpark
squat behind buick wheel
scraped and all banged in,
hungover unshaved erect,
with no pony tips to play.
Mocha big gulp balanced
on vinyl dash cracks with
your beige savior upright,
one gloss ring per bored day
making a coaster extra luxe
while spitting your dribble
onto seedy shifting carpet,
rubbed off brake and clutch.
Sneaker tongue shot eyelet
worn through daily rhythm,
enjoying only in your mind
white sweats stretched elastic
from damp plastic into trash
when the lap becomes the thighs.
Ritual light and sweet
a morning queue wait,
flapping brown packets
of sugar bulging pre-tear
next to spills of coffee
and ashes from the suck of now:
an ask never even noticed
glimmers into wasted guilt
from the gimlet of your eye.
Death wish goose limping,
invisible to chrome hoods,
tries to reach the wood
wondering how much glass
is really in this world.
Posts
Not a very pretty portrait, but I love the turns of phrase. This seems essentially American to me. And that death wish goose is a most apt metaphor.
ReplyDeletescin
ReplyDeletetill
ating,
scar
ring,
scary.
Wow... goose bumps!
ReplyDelete:)
"ashes from the suck of now"! I am looking at my desk where the Splenda has escaped to the skirt of my coffee. Three wet rings and a crop dusting. It really was a delightfully disgusting read. I'm going to clean off my desk now.
ReplyDelete@Francis: Not everything is pretty I suppose.
ReplyDelete@vazambam: indeed.
@dulce: glad to have some effect.
@W&W: ha!
I always wonder how much ugly is in the world, and then I see my neighbor. I love your poetry.
ReplyDeleteThis one is really great; the words bang together forcefully. I especially love the ending.
ReplyDelete@Autumn: I suppose this is a bit of a character sketch on some level. Not sure if I pushed it too far away from beauty although I suspect what we see in the world is also part of ourselves even if that's sometimes a hard thing to accept.
ReplyDelete@rToady: 'bang' is the right word. percussion and music of words is the effect I strive for. Cheers.
flapping brown packets
ReplyDeleteof sugar bulging pre-tear
next to spills of coffee
and ashes from the suck of now:
I DO like this collage of words!
@jinksy: cheers to one of my favorite bloggers. always a pleasure to get the read.
ReplyDeleteGerry,
ReplyDeleteI always enjoy reading your words. They enliven my mind!
Best wishes, Eileen
@Eileen: Thanks. Enlivening is a good thing. Hope your summer is going well. Been hot, hot, hot here in the northeast US.
ReplyDeleteI know, I always say this, but your textures are delicious....beige savior, break and clutch. So satisfying.
ReplyDeleteI like your vocabulary here...!!
ReplyDeleteGerry,
ReplyDeleteI'm on vacation in the French Alps. Another place where the spirit can be easily enlivened also!
Summer in England has been disappointing.
Best wishes,
Eileen
Loved this, really.
ReplyDelete@willow: what can I say dear willow, I'm a fool for sound. Else, what's a poem really for?
ReplyDelete@Sandra(if): I love words. Cheers.
@Eileen: My, my. I want to be where you are. I'll expect some dramatic and slightly gothic poetry from you now.
@Anonymous: I too love a sense of mystery.