Imagine dollars in my hand
meaningless as November leaves.
Money, like all the precious, leaves first.
None would prefer freezing over the warmth of the last flaming Bible.
Rudderless, captainless, shipless, wreck,
I wander like Tyrannosaurus before me,
watching his fiery, July 4th, slow-motion descent.
“Woah!” they exclaimed in whatever bellow they blew.Surely the sign of a better tomorrow.
How strange it is to awake laughing,
hung on the same skeletal rack Socrates abandoned,
body broken and tethered by time and gravity.
Let me see, again that face I kissed so darkly
beneath the streetlamp where scorpions scattered.
Bougainvillea arbroea breaths within my nostrils
memorialized the night we lost the last,
precious Atchison Topeka and Santa Fe
rail spike and had to use your stiletto heel
to complete the crucifixion.
_______________
This is the third of seven poems from my portfolio for the 2020 Poetry Workshop I participated in, under the direction of instructor Eli Burrell.
| Copyright © 2021 by Bob Boldt |
What can I say?
ReplyDeleteExcellent.
Once again your images are grand and this time they build to a climax. Who knew there might be some kind of a love poem within this fantastic piece of writing.
“Fantastic piece of writing” for sure – I think I have only begun to put some arms around it.
ReplyDeleteWhat an amazing piece, Bob! Absolutely love the images: the not so obvious plant reference (I had to look it up) and specific railroad spike were my favorite. I want to hear this one aloud in our next reading!
ReplyDeleteThat one I got right off-bouganvilla being something else very common in Florida, bushy, bursting with little squared-off blooms in purple, pink, white, peach. But watch out-they hide the 1-2 inch thorns that cover the branches. When I trim mine I get scratched so much it looks like i'm the star in Passion of the Christ!
DeleteNICE gloss!
DeleteI love the juxtaposition of "wrecks" and "Tyrannosaurus", just the right touch of irony for a dying world. As always, a pearl of great price...
ReplyDelete