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Sweetness and Life
by Laura DoomBeing obsessive-compulsive can be inordinately frustrating;
when, for instance, the godless crave a glass of nectar.
I undergo metamorphosis
emerging as a hummingbird hawk-moth
and visit an old friend, Knautia arvensis
in hiding from hebicidal extremists
and horticultural fundamentalists.
She gives me the ultra-violet light
and I am struck by glandular fever.
Exhausted, I catch the last flight
back to the penury epitomised
by the prospect of prosaic poetry.
Having poured the fruits of my labour
into the glass, the reverse transition
to human stasis delivers me a flavour of the mundane.
The glass is half-empty.
In a fit of regression
I fly into a rage
and smash the glass.
It shatters
into three hundred and fifty seven fragments,
and ninety four slivers.
I am broken,
unable to digest how long will it take me
to re-arrange these disparate pieces
and put this sorry-looking glass back together. 09/11/2024 Posted on 09/11/2024
Copyright © 2024 Laura Doom
| Member Comments on this Poem |
| Posted by John Harder on 10/06/24 at 03:21 PM Makes me wonder what kind of outdated beliefs a horticultural fundamentalist would try to shove down our throats. "God hates self-pollination" perhaps?
A wonderfully clever piece of work depicting the struggles of obsessive tendencies. i.e. counting the glass shards rather than simply cleaning them up. And I particularly enjoy the first half of the piece, and your use of scientific knowledge blending with some inner turmoil I can't quite grasp. Nice work! |
| Posted by Kristina Woodhill on 12/22/24 at 02:25 AM Have not been on here for months. I found a poem of yours I had printed off (Reversal) and thought I needed to see if you were still writing your inimitable works. I see you are! Also love the counting of the pieces of glass, the third stanza's immersion into moth land, and the flavour of mundane. Holiday greetings! |
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