Sunday, March 04, 2007
Two poems
i followed your instructions.
keep all promises in a tightly sealed container
away from direct sunlight
keep out of reach
of prying eyes and ears
store in a cool, dry
place
only you and i could visit
in wee hours.
no labels.
yes, no labels
on this bottled, nameless thing.
but now that i've found
they're all rotten,
you impose:
no complaints.
keep all screams muffled
in a tightly sealed container
away from broad daylight
store in room temperature
as coolas if nothing happened.
otherwise,you explain,
this will be too messy
on the glossy pages of magazines
on Kris Aquino shows
on your friendly-next-door-neighbor polo
on your perfectly polished nameplate
on your perfectly polished guitar
on your perfectly polished ego
never mind if i'd bled enough already
and stained my clothes
never mind if i'd lost my poetry
or my self-respect
and messed my head up some more
and you prod me on,
be strong,
you can clean that on your own,
that mess in your complicated head
and i try to wipe memory
spotlessof you
but Mr. Clean's promises
of sparkling whiteare as black as yours.
and i still follow your instruction.
don't spill.
keep still.
don't spill.
___________________________
the day brims with an absence.
the silence of
a thread of hair about to break
a drone of flapping lips
in a fastfood joint
a flatline
and that pause
before the scream
coming downfrom a carousel ride
into the sadness
of a brighly lit empty carnival
without your momma there
a fall
from the 13th floor
stuck in mid air
and wishing
there was something
as tangible
as solid
as concrete.
Posted by inktrip at 1:01 PM