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Open Poetry #26
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defined and declined
| Open Poetry #26 |
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defined and declined |
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Drexler_McStyles Member
since 2002-11-18
Posts 195Venice, Ca |
there is a photo I am a silhouette passing against the face of a giant tomb inside a graveyard in New Orleans if it weren’t for the stroke of sunlight coloring in my calf Id claim to be a ghost bewitched by the silence the precise shadows and brilliant ivory marble lend me no leisure all those boxes, marked with erosion marked with reminders of brass that was stolen long ago the pleas of angels, the eyes of martyrs, the cunning whimper of wolves lurking between the hedge and sickle rot iron spears mark the skin if you lean against the fence trying to reach for the eternal flame… madams and high priestesses have lipstick and gin decorating their shrines nothing grows here everything that enters this place sleeps late or leaves with a little less than what they came in with you step outside whorehouses, lairs of indulgence, burrows of vice litter the street pimps and perverts eye you as if they want to send you back inside so you whisk through the first doorway you see and onto a stool at the bar the curtains are a muted velvet, moth eaten and sagging the bartender is speaking in a whispered tone to the women at the end of the room there is no one else he sees you and turns his back dust shakes down from the ceiling under the shuffling of footsteps above wild thrashing and familiar noises you cant identify keep you busy until a curtain is pulled back from behind the bar and an apparition of a woman with sable eyes pours you a glass of absinthe it doesn’t take much to finish the bottle swooning from the presence of her torso her movements leave you flushed slowly you notice everyone is looking at you the place has filled up freaks and perversion of every make and model have infested the joint the barkeep is standing directly before you you mention that her red coils mimic the movement of her hips then you finish your drink someplace in the back the silence allows a saxophone to boil over she laughs you too everyone laughs and goes back to their conversations taking their volume with them she fills your glass from another bottle pours one for herself you toast her health, you toast the desert from hence you came you sing about the cactus and the strife of the moon the lightbulb in the bathroom is fizzling in and out someone offers you some powder on a small mirror in brings you back to an upright position you cannot see his face he is gone when you come out it is into the street things have gotten darker the cackling of whores the cries of lost children remind you that you’re still around a woman pulls you into an alley and begins mending your trousers on her knees afterwards you give her your wedding band and she leaves you to yourself to the distant sirens and rainbows that flux in the puddles you are a long way from home but very close to what it is you are looking for [This message has been edited by Drexler_McStyles (05-16-2003 06:05 PM).] |
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| © Copyright 2003 Steven Doherty - All Rights Reserved | |||
Midnitesun
since 2001-05-18
Posts 28647Gaia |
wow. In reading this one, I had a flash image of Toulouse sitting beside me on a barstool in a graveyard. Very eery. (Lost souls guidebook episode?) Great write, D. |
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nakdthoughts Member Laureate
since 2000-10-29
Posts 19200Between the Lines |
very interesting...I could picture your words, although I have never experienced such...a sign of good writing. M |
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CaseyLeigh Junior Member
since 2003-05-15
Posts 48 |
you might want to revise: "as if they want to send you back in inside" enjoyed this, quite like a story. as i told you before, different from your prior work. not use to sounding so professional with you... |
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serenity blaze Member Empyrean
since 2000-02-02
Posts 27738 |
You capture the Dark Lady so well, I do have to wonder how you know her... This IS New Orleans. And the infamous hauntings of this place is quite often the resounding pain of the living. shaking my head here. Saving this, thinking, "Damn..I wish I'd written this... |
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icebox Member Elite
since 2003-05-03
Posts 4383in the shadows |
This brought back memories. Well done. Thanks! |
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