Saturday, April 18, 2020

Shallow As A Puddle


There's a lens there; it could have been just the flash of a Cheetos bag
Except that was in the park, in daylight, almost four years ago
One end open, screaming.
We elected him, America. Just lying there, on the brown pine needles
One open end, screaming.
I guess this America--fixed in the silver black--wouldn't flinch
Wouldn't guess that we'd eventually find a way to make that 
Self-portrait into a selfie, a moment flattened into putty,
Shallow as a puddle; has to be seen, has to be liked
You can't just ignore it. Screaming.
There you go. 
You can't even congratulate art on its gutter perch--
It's just going to lie there, flat, sticky, and empty of context.
You could read the name of the photographer
But there's that damn screaming, echoing,
Like the florescent lights which should be halogen
But this isn't a &$%*ing gallery. 
It's just a phone, probably. 
Just the box that holds the screaming.
Look at me! Look at me! Look at me!
There's the orange flash of a logo.
There are no crumbs inside.

Sharing with The Sunday Muse. Sorry about the language. Have I reached a limit? Yeah, so, so much. 

-- Chrissa


11 comments:

  1. This speaks to me of betrayal of more than one kind. Powerful and the raw feelings cut to the quick. Even in despair your poetry is amazing my friend. That is the lovely thing about poetry, we can communicate feelings in a deeper and creative way.

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  2. Four years ago there were Cherios in those sacks. Mostly all are emptied, crumpled and blown into the gutters. But we and powers to be will quickly restore what has been ISIS-like destroyed.
    Thanks for all you do here,
    ..

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  3. That's right. Get it off your chest, and see you next week. By the way, even I can see the link in my musings this week, lol.

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  4. Thanks for being part of the Muse this week!

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  5. He would have been as appalled as most of us!

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  6. "You can't even congratulate art on its gutter perch" -- terrific!

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  7. Lots of killer lines in this, and I think swearing is often the only way to deal with what is happening in front of our eyes, the slow-mo train wreck our country has become. My favorite line was "...Just the box that holds the screaming..." Excellent stuff.

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  8. I have been doing my share of swearing...We are sliding downhill in this country...scary ride..I fear the bottom..or hopefully we've reached it.

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  9. This entire poem is like a scream to me--shallow, orange, empty.

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  10. Oh I reached that limit awhile ago. This caricature of a leader would have been considered ludicrous on a children's television show. But reality proves again how absurd and horrifying it can be.

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