Thursday, November 22, 2012

Ode To An Unexpected Feast


For the sweet drink of gods that tints my
lips with grape and that
warms me
happy-hearted with
spirits to the sky
like the bird I did not eat and
For the red beast and pink
succulent shellfish that I did.

For the white meat beneath  
brown flesh and earth that I
peeled and rinsed from it
and then pounded by hand
to a buttery pulp
and creamed and
For the gold that comes as a gift from the ground
wrapped in green textured papers.

For the night and 
the one two before with all its 
Freedoms of
pressing himself against me and
religion not tying me down
For all its pursuit of pleasure.

For the feast it seemed would not exist, but did and
For the warmth and abundance that exists
even in its absence.

Tuesday, November 13, 2012

Tattered Book


i thumb through You
excitedly pulling Your front cover open
i close my eyes and smell You
old comforting pleasure
mingled with unfamiliar new
and Your plot line falls apart
as i tickle Your pages
fingering through
the first few lines of dialog linger repeated
repeated
as i flutter past the mundane
into the open moments of suspense
where my heart
like antelope in the plains
beats its animal hooves
wildly on the trembling ground
away
from threatening claws that clench me near
and sharp teeth that may shred me
but the pages have been past wet
and the words begin to fade
bringing about my withheld breath
for the story tells the weak do not prevail
and here i have pranced over the beast
and landed on the page instead
where i die a painful death
not by gash but from internal wound
a clumsy gazelle who ran into a tree
self inflicted injury avoided
had i been attentive enough
to bright yellow caution tape
wrapped tightly round
You my favorite
story of the recent past.


+ This poem was written as an assignment  for my creative writing class. The assignment was to incorporate extended metaphor. This was my first attempt, and was written in 10 minutes with no previous meditation on the assignment..