I just LOVED 'Vertifo under mistletoe' (I've read it before);
wonderful, little, warm rollercoaster. the variations of the rhythm &
the references to songs reminded me generally of the collage-like
jumble of the Waste Land, but more specifically of Cummings' "o to be
in finland" (curiously), because it includes the stanzas:
swing low
sweet ca
rr
y on
at which I always get the tune of Swing Low... in my head for a brief
instant, until "pass the freedoms pappy". I get the same vibe with
this poem, it sounds like listening to the radio while changing the
channels. which I imagine might be what vertigo or dizziness could be
described as. the holiday theme is well held, both vivid & subtle at
once.
lovely
KS
On 04/09/07, MC Ward <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> Some listees have read these poems in my chapbook and
> commented on them, but since other potential readers
> don't have access to the book , I thought I'd post a
> couple of the poems that readers have expressed
> interest in, ""Vertigo under Mistletoe"" and "Dire
> (2/4) Time."
>
> ""Vertigo under Mistletoe"
>
> _I'm at a place called Vertigo
> I's everything I wish I didn't know_
> (U2, "Vertigo")
>
> _all-heal_ by the garland flaunted
> above the rushes-o _punt!_ what betidith
> these yuleclouds magellanic?
>
> O natal star say our
> yongling ycomen
>
> littel childe myrrh is mine
> its bitter perfume
> its babel sound
>
> O hush ye men of
> strife!
>
> it's kisses kisses
> then into egypt with him
>
> crisscross the rubicon
> sun askance the snow
> where it lies dinged
> by deer on the run
>
> so infant limbs do
> blanch to lose their
> outdoor color and
> _touch my robe!_
>
> O babe be not
> affrighted
>
> desire of nations
> mark my step
> my good page
>
> holly mistletoe red berries ivy
> turkeys geese game poultry brawn pigs
> sausages oysters
> pies puddings fruit punch all instantly
>
> _vanish_
>
> (c) Candice Ward, 2006
>
>
>
> "Dire (2/4) Time"
>
> _Time is a stripper
> Doing it just for you_
> (The Grateful Dead, "Cats Under the Stars")
>
> this is my mission, your satisfaction in the
> dire
> rain and spectral action of these untimely
> streets
>
> where memory rocks and corners the dream
> market
> once the honky-tonks close and go dark to
> moonlight
>
> as ghost dancehalls, when midnight bells
> the cats to yin-yang with the stars when
> someone calls and someone turns, time
> and again someone never--comes a time
>
> looks like rain, more than rain, that
> ble`ssed cup turning upon empty at--
> _begin again_ with your harvest home
> coming in loud, unclear,as hornblown
>
> plenty tuned to the winter garden, or
> a reaper's song picked clean as secrecy
>
> then in hand, now in glove and pulled back
> under the glass of that cold coldframe
>
> we plot to harrow the old hunger gtounds
> where wolfsbane roots, we leaf, we sorrow
> up the wordsalad, tossing back this joyful
> poison, page after scrap, ajar the damp book
>
> of once and since when, with its windfall
> gatherings of coincidence, for come dire
> season the blight is on the fruit and nut
> the rain falls on the good and the wet
>
> (must you wave that dowser's wand as well?)
> someone is already weeping in my sleep,
> while
>
> day is another drowning of color by the hour
> down the galileo glass--sink of my pastime
> sifted
> through its own miniscule--no cups my
> hands
> those two (late & little) so clockwise now
>
> it's beginning to look a lot like kismet
> (wolf at the window, satisfaction at the door)
>
> looking to get lucky, or even, you are stoked
> for
> winter, gifted and so starved to the letter
> the mother
> tongue opens my mouth to suggestion,
> my hunger
> to conjure magic bullets for an orphan
> with no gun
>
> (we all need someone to choke or chew on)
> when something breaks, something goes
>
> under, quicker to fade than fugitive color, no
> bluer or slower than time's figure, a belle
> of a burlesque queen, rain-missioned in
> satin to button it up just for you
>
> (my glove) and take it all back
> to your dire satisfaction
>
> (c) Candice Ward, 2006
>
> Comments, pro or con, are welcome, as are questions.
> Happy Reading (I hope)--
>
> Candice
>
>
>
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