The Ravens' Cotillion
There was no place to hide
eyelid to eye
so I wore black instead
when the three fetches came
to take my basket of berries.
They weren't looking for me;
only for
refreshments
only the black
acrid taste they love best
of mold along the stem, and the
sweet eight-day folly of the tulip;
canapés and crudités
for the ravens' cotillion they'd planned
~April 2016
posted for real toads
Note: I actually included five titles here but did not link Eyelid to Eye, or The Folly of the Tulip. All were taken from more prolific past Aprils.
Images: Photo: © joyannjones
Dead Tulip Petals by Lisa Benemelis, all rights reserved, no copyright infringement intended
I love the tiny drop of whimsy in the darkness of this. Such fantastic imagery in every sense of the word.
ReplyDeleteSuch darkness when they are even bereaving you the mold... with such friends you don't need enemies. You must have fantastic titles to chose from...
ReplyDeleteWhat a wonderful piece of dark whimsy!
ReplyDeleteThe title is exquisite, and the revelation of what these visitors really want is a black and startling mix of afternoon tea and graveyard. Mrs. Havisham on some kind of street drug.
ReplyDeleteI love the Bernie thingie on your side bar. I feel the Bern, too!
I love everything from title to ending. "There was no place to hide eyelid to eye so I wore black instead" One of my favorite lines.
ReplyDeleteYou had me at the title and did not disappoint! There is something about "eight-day folly of the tulip" that I just adore.
ReplyDeleteYes, another brilliant title and a haunting poem to delight on the Sabbath.
ReplyDeletethe first two lines hold an entire philosophy: "no place to hide".
ReplyDeletethis strikes me as part of the same universe as the gargoyles... ~
Thanks, M for reading all three linked poems--they don't really have much of a relationship to each other(other than they are all about the same things I always write about ;_) ) but agree, the night of the gargoyles is closest to this one, as it stuck with me more for some unknown reason. Hope you're feeling better.
DeleteAlso, I picked three that I thought Magaly might like. ;_)
DeleteI love this, especially:
ReplyDelete"the
sweet eight-day folly of the tulip"
Your three titles fit in effortlessly and expand the vision here really--(such as it is at such close range) for me I especially like mold on the branch aspect--it seemed so genuinely naturalistic--thanks.k.
ReplyDeleteThanks, k--appreciate you taking the time to read all three--I really just picked them by the titles that tickled my fancy, and whether I thought Magaly might enjoy them. Glad if there is some synergistic effect--you ought to get *something* extra for reading them. ;_) Much appreciated.
DeleteSpectacular!
ReplyDeleteThose eerie dark 3 fetches (I read the link) are so much like the the 3 Fates of legend...How beautifully that poem seems to set the scenario for this one. And the final line about the gargoyles - a poem with its own final line which could be the epilogue to this one - a difficult dream to pin down. A wonderful read.
ReplyDeleteI love the detail in this.....the mold along the stem.....and the way that the titles from your other poems just fit so seamlessly into this one.
ReplyDeleteI'm sure we the living are considered party-poopers by the dead. Dropping off just when the fun is revving up. Few are we who can go eyeless into that rank dark, or so we think ... I wonder if there's any stopping this poetry hurly-burly once the banging and clanging starts. We'll make poems about our nothing, and the night makes 'em sing ... and o how the gargoyles howl their breathless applause to our aural applesauce! I loved the foodie delectation about that mold -- eew.
ReplyDelete