Bestiary: A Whimsical Collection
I
Waiting in line
To deposit a check…
Yes, once noticed,
At whatever hour.
Once the sharp edge is felt.
There is no turning back.
The edge is only the beginning.
I remember the first time I felt it
I glided perilously near the abyss
Then I plunged into
The deeper retreats.
And indeed as once told
There dwelled a demon, and a beast.
The beauty and a beast.
Little vacuuming, little explosions.
Spiralling around like deviances
Rejoicing in their own atmosphere.
Sharp as ash, Wednesday ash.
And it is the ash that always remains.
The taste, I mean.
The memory of the taste.
As now, even when I only toy with the idea
Of a new trip.
Is always there
The ash.
How I love the after taste.
II
Saturn rising.
The bestiary in 3D.
Around and around.
Calliope redeemed
For me. Now I see.
Calliope once more
Is alive! Ready and wet.
Though rasping dryness predominates,
One knows, oh I know!
What awaits.
It has always been there.
Present for anyone
That would dare invoke
Enough times
Her name.
Aware of course
Of the danger implied.
Here comes one now
In yellow splendour
No time in its stride, as God
Promising, promising
III
The first thing that hits you,
Is the smell of,
Waiting to be lit fantasies.
Odour not yet exploding.
But you just wait.
For I’ll bathe in its fire ravished core,
As I chant for forgiveness
To come
(Just in case the treasure is for real)
That cannot possible ever arrive,
I know.
As my mom’s boyfriend’s love letter from Martinique
During the summer of ’45.
A passionate story
That kept me alive on my first ocean journey
As I melted away
Riding small tsunamis
Of my own fluids.
IV
And yes, my turn has come
I’ll walk the path.
Toward the mirror
#184
My number
It has come.
I’ll receive the sacramental first ritual
And then Friday at 5 pm
The rest of the liturgy
V
A thrilling place. This time,
It could be it. A thrilling edge to glide
Sharp.
This time
For sure
You never know.
Do you?
Category: Poems
