Saturday, September 15, 2018
IN THE FLASH OF AN EYE
And now I find
that I give less and less
of a damn
about any of it
But it would do my heart good
if I knew that just once you stopped
and questioned your motives
for all of it
cuz if it's just by rote
it plays a sad and sour note
to my ears
And let me draw my own conclusions
as to why she smiled at me
in the supermarket
let me hang onto my illusions
a wee bit longer
cuz in my mind
and in my heart
I'm still back there listenin' to
The Mighty Quinn
(everybody's gonna want a dose)
Don't mean to be morose
but I need a reason
to fall out of that bed
Just don't make me feel that
your day
and your life
won't be complete
unless you are killing something
that smiles
Decades whiz by
in the flash of an eye
and when I say I took her support stockings off
and wore them over my head
and then went out and robbed da liquor store
I think U know what I mean--
it's the universal language of love
ooby dooby dooby doo
just me and you
Will apologize to neither god nor man
for what I am
my is-ness
is none of you biz-ness
and yet I'll pray
that you'll be forever freed
from your own private hell...
and thus release me from mine
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k. cat.
ReplyDeleteThat must mean you like it
Delete"But it would do my heart good
ReplyDeleteif I knew that just once you stopped
and questioned your motives"
I can see how it would hurt far more to know that those cruelties were casual, because indifference is far more removed from love than hate is.
Exactly so...thanks, Rommy!
DeleteI’m loving the tone here. It’s one of Ht he poet waking up to their circumstances. I note the hard questions.... and I fear the answers. The poet’s ‘is-ness’ is a great word!
ReplyDeleteVivian...an insightful comment, and much appreciated!
DeletePretending and make-believing becomes more and more important the older we grow... but alas we can go to the liquor store and buy more booze that we can survive...
ReplyDeleteAh, but it's more romantic to rob the liquor store...
DeleteI'le take a scotch on the rocks please. I love how you always tell it like it is!! :-)
ReplyDeleteComing right up, Carrie!
DeletePutting her support stockings over your head gave me a good laugh...
ReplyDeleteI know you did not really rob a bank because you would have worn a balaclava instead:)
True...and I think I would have gone skiing afterwards!
DeleteI love how your poetry takes us to new place, the reader is uncomfortable but has got to continue, they are hooked by its quirkiness and enjoy every word.
ReplyDeleteThat is high praise, and much appreciated, Old Egg!
DeleteWe have too many who seem to get so much joy out of killing something that smiles.
ReplyDeleteGlad you liked that line, Susie!
DeleteEnjoyed your playfulness here and some of your lines have a real sting too. Powerful and highly original work, I thought.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for that!
Deletehey - how are you? good to read you again. robbing the liquor store sounds like a plan - i'm in. oy - but yeah - tough to deal with such people - even tougher when you really like them
ReplyDeleteGreat to see you again, Claudia! I've had my ups and downs, as I assume you have too. Meet you at the liquor store and we'll formulate a plan!
DeleteNice lines: "cuz if it's just by rote
ReplyDeleteit plays a sad and sour note"
and "and your life
won't be complete
unless you are killing something
that smiles"
Thanks. Good to hear from you, Frank.
DeleteI love the opening lines! You always have such a unique way of using language that adds depth to what you write. Love your work.
ReplyDeleteTeresa...you've been a loyal poetry friend over the years...I so much appreciate that and hope you are doing well.
DeleteBeen a while since I read you; really blew my compression stocking off with this one. Your style smacks of Bukowski candor and beat poet insights. I think of Trump followers when I read your notes on cruelty.
ReplyDeleteThanks Glenn. I love the comparisons you made!
DeleteI was smiling at the end. Thanks for sharing and have a good weekend.
ReplyDeleteMuch appreciated, Grace!
Delete' your day
ReplyDeleteand your life
won't be complete
unless you are killing something
that smiles' yes, would much rather you are not robbing one of joy
Dorianna...thanks for stopping by and good to make your acquaintance.
DeleteOh that first stanza resonates for many situations...the older I become. I liked the internal rhyme and playful voice.
ReplyDeleteMish...So you can identify, and it sounds like you know exactly what I'm talking about--lol
Delete"you are killing something / that smiles"...The words hit me hard. Oh yes, things happen like this. A very enjoyable read.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much, Sumana!
DeleteMy beloved Timoteo, I've never said that I was glad to be late to reading, but... in this case I am. For if I had read your poem before writing the post I wrote today, even I would've thought that some of the feelings this poem evokes were part of my inspiration. But it wasn't. It that's even better, for it tells me that I am not the only one who refuses to allow someone else's nonsense to cut the rope that ties us to... better... to wanting... to hoping...
ReplyDeleteLet us be us and live like us... the rest, well... they can do what they want (if doesn't affect the rest... negatively).
Love the defiance... and the deep truthiness.
Magaly...I love reading your comments because they read like poetry! We think along the same lines much of the time. The "No Nonsense" poets--lol
DeletePowerful piece, we realize of course that the protagonist, does give a damn... you have captured that moment here where the slow accretion frustration and disagreements might be tipping the balance from the measured weight of the days to the impulse to be free, and yet what weight and power to those days! I mean, it has been decades and the very power of the rant shows a connection certainly none of the indifference that has wounded his own heart. If there was not love there, he truly would own the claim to not give a damn and the poem would be more of a gentle slide into new life stream rather than the wonderfully bumpy ride you have given us. As is so often the case the impulse to be the pure existentialist is tempered by the love or at least the connections, or maybe even the mere ethics that tie us together. There is truth though I’m not apologizing for who we are (definitely often for what we do), but not for our izness. This realization is part of why I am still alive and guess what? God has actually never asked me to apologize for that, I was mistaken. Well anyway, it is a delight to meetcha, I love your rhythm and your voice and this honest picture of that moment when it all seems clear, and then (for me) immediately starts to get muddy again. Oh, and robbing the liquor store might not actually be romantic unless you are referring to being able to meet some hulking Bubba Joe in the clink... hmmmm. 😨
ReplyDelete💜 this Poem 🙋🏻♀️☺️
Lona...I thank you so much for this. You have read with the utmost comprehension, but more importantly the heart of a romantic...I sense a kindred spirit! Yes, that is what my life--and maybe yours is....going from clear--or seemingly so--to muddy...murky...so how can poetry be anything but off the top of your head as we roll with the punches from moment to moment?Great to meetcha!
Delete"my is-ness / is none of you biz-ness"--I like that.
ReplyDeleteOf course I reserve the right to understand it in unfashionably, politically incorrect, bipartisan ways. "Gays," and hipsters, and also Confederate flag wavers.
I'm so "incorrect"...you don't know the half of it--lol
Delete