A grave nightmare patchworks my teardrops;
scents of atomic lullabies,
and seventh tries,
those righteous lies
which say I will breathe ’til my heart stops.
I dance in laurels and nudity,
at their brutal, unworldly birth,
sedate with mirth,
a solemn earth,
hovers above and below me.
I touch down on an unholy moon,
amid a vast cornfield to cook,
with the wrong book,
cast a pale look:
the sky is nothing but a spoon
I walk a stuttering, woodland path,
all poached in the emptiest ache,
a bitter quake,
let the trees take
out on me their revenge and their wrath.
Here I cling to the nightmare like wind,
slipping it through salty fingers;
how it lingers,
’til the singers
exalt all that ought to offend.
I starve under bright, stained-glass windows,
my feet on a Seraphim’s nose,
a sultry pose,
a headless rose,
bells ring, but the door remains closed.
Alight with me onto a tower,
follow my corset down the stairs,
war with me there,
frolic ensnared,
in awe of resurrection power.
Then we will swim fast through the river,
all spraying giggles in a splash,
a soaking dash,
a weightless thrash,
playmates like unforeseen shivers.
Crab queenly reclines there, astride
the scales of brave Fish, those clear eyes,
they wave goodbyes,
in cold surprise;
my heart pled for mercy, but died.
You’re so good.
Ah, but we writers are only as good as our book deals 😉
False.
Also, I can’t keep track of your whereabouts, so this may or may not be helpful:
LINDQUIST & VENNUM PRIZE FOR POETRY
http://milkweed.org/about-us/editorial/lindquist-vennum-prize-for-poetry/
—
NO ENTRY FEE.
This annual prize awards $10,000 as well as a contract for publication to the author of the winning manuscript.Poets currently residing in North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, Iowa, or Wisconsin are eligible to be considered for the Lindquist & Vennum Prize for Poetry. Manuscripts must be complete, previously unpublished, book-length collections. Deadline January 31, 2014, with the winning collection to be announced in April 2014.
Aw, thanks for the tip!
Great verse – Edgar Allen Poe would love this, were he alive. Worth reading again and again.
Oh, that’s the highest compliment ever. Thanks!
Haha, glad you think so!
holy cow, shrinks! – your magnificent free verse self shows her mastery of modernist allegory in traditional form – you are simply incredible – my favorite stanza is “I starve…”
Oh, you always compliment me far beyond what I deserve, Paul. ❤
quite honestly, that’s not possible – your gift is uniquely precious
That’s a full buffet
A full buffet always has sprinkles to put on the ice cream sundae ; )
True that 🙂
Happy New Year !!!!!!! and best wishes for you in 2014 🙂
thank you dear 🙂
Thank you, sweet one. I wish you much love for the New Year as well!
thank you so much dear Shrinks 🙂 🙂
I loved the piano you played and sang your poetry 🙂 🙂
Thank you! : )
🙂 🙂