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The Ballad of Dr. Frankenstein
by Chris Sorrenti
Looking down at the pages of poetry, I worried if I’d been doing the right thing.
For years my electrodes had been plugged into what now seemed a monster,
discouraged at the possibility it might never live.
Across the lab stood condensers and vacuum tubes, wires rigged with the positive
and negative, running up through the roof to an antenna open to the horizon,
while on a bookshelf sat hundreds of test tubes, the products of my first two experiments.
In the first, I had put personal anarchy into neutral. Then with the second,
taught myself the politics of imagery. Lord only knew what the third would bring,
sick and tired of seeing art as science.
With flash and bang, a new storm climaxed outside, more violent than any I’d witnessed.
In haste I threw the switch, as lightning hit the antenna,
unexpectedly setting the electrodes on fire.
A few seconds later...the creature moved! Then it sat up and got off the table.
I watched in amazement as it walked over to the test tubes, and with a sweep of its arm,
sent my previous work flying in all directions.
Turning to me, the creature then smiled, saying, “Father, I do this for you.”
Then speaking no more, it made for the door, tearing the wood from its hinges,
leaving me to wonder where my creation would go, as it disappeared into the night.
© 1983
Photos courtesy of the Net
1,080 hits as of February 2024
10/26/2014 Author's Note: Happy Halloween everyone! With special thanks to Mary Shelley.
Posted on 10/27/2014
Copyright © 2024 Chris Sorrenti
| Member Comments on this Poem |
| Posted by Kristina Woodhill on 10/27/14 at 11:58 PM Surely this is creation at its most raw. I loved the monster sweeping aside past work and heading on out the door. A fine metaphorical (seasonal)romp here, Chris. Thanks! |
| Posted by Coleman Demiurge on 10/29/14 at 02:26 PM Excellent work! The tale of Frankenstein makes for a fine allegory in many ways, and you have added in other. When it comes to my own work, I think the Wolfman or Jekyll and Hyde are more fitting, but anyway... Superb work, as usual, Chris. Happy Halloween! |
| Posted by Ken Harnisch on 10/31/14 at 04:05 PM Somewhere Boris Karloff is smiling down as he reads this, while in the background Bobby "Boris" Pickett's Monster Mash is being played aloud! Happy Halloween Chris! |
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