exercise in Southern Gothic
train comes, its wrack
the undisguisably pickled
dregs of hope de-
composing, dreaming acidly
in blue glass, mason. so
much for bloated beginnings,
point-of-departure daggered
summer afternoons in the market
where souls are at auction as
they were lifetimes ago
and charlatans lien awned
forevers under skies that
darken and gradually un-
remember. she presses
thin dress over pale thigh, fights
wind-made wrack in torn fabric,
holds her voice white-knuckled:
what price would you pay
to drain the vinegar,
slough history, begin again?
With the crap I’m dealing with right now I’d say that you wrote this for me after a conversation you and I had. Nice
smooches,
Larie
May 22, 2012 at 12:08 pm
let’s say that, then. written for Larie.
glad it found some resonance. hope all the crap lightens up!
May 22, 2012 at 12:36 pm
dang..tight…esp. the closure.. there are areas in my life i would pay a high price to be able to begin again…love the title as well
May 22, 2012 at 4:33 pm
thanks, Claudia. there are def. things i’d like a do-over for as well.
May 24, 2012 at 10:39 pm
Southern Gothic – saw Flannery O’Conner at book read at Miami book fair 1985 or so. Dave Barry and Garrison Keillor too !
May 22, 2012 at 5:19 pm
i dunno, i am always afraid inteh rewriting that i would screw it up worse than i did the first time you know…smiles…really some nice touches…the mason glass…the train…
next time i roll by i will honk louder…smiles.
May 22, 2012 at 5:25 pm
thanks, brian. this one really came from a lotta different places, though sometimes i think there really are things i would re-do….
yeah, next time you come by lay on the horn; i’ll up the shades and wave from the window.
May 24, 2012 at 10:30 pm
Love the word “Wrack”. Very well used.
And the closing words are just sublime. Great work.
May 22, 2012 at 8:16 pm
The heavy cloud of regret lingers here – I liked following the path of this sad daydream. You do melancholy so well,
thanks Mosk
May 22, 2012 at 11:34 pm
yeah, i kinda do, don’t i? like it’s a semi-permanent state-of-mind or something… thanks, Mosk. always appreciate hearing from ya.
May 24, 2012 at 10:34 pm
Nice details….great poem!
May 24, 2012 at 8:28 pm
Pleasure to read…!!!
cloud reader
May 25, 2012 at 1:01 pm
First of all, I like the poem. Secondly, not sure what price I would pay but I would probably kill someone to go back to the time in history when I was thin and with a full head of hair.
May 25, 2012 at 9:09 pm
Awesome details, images and descriptions. If there is a train to take one back to a point in time one wishes to change, what is the price indeed. Hard to say, somehow I think if it’s possible, you won’t know the price till you come back to the present point again. Interesting poem.
May 31, 2012 at 7:29 am