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Saturday, April 26, 2008

Neither monster nor man

This one is a bit of a departure for me in several ways. It's a hybrid of a few different images and themes that have been traipsing through my mind. As always, feedback is much appreciated ...

By Francis Scudellari

Neither monster nor man, passive he lies
With contented smile, seeming suspended
Surrounded by wretched cloud, his spewing
Fleshed machine built to feed, and little else

A strange form, perhaps freakish, at first sight,
But well-suited for his self-made purpose
Pale, accustomed to emitted darkness,
Thick flaps over sockets where eyes once probed

Spider arms extend, gangly receptors
Arcing fists spread with bowed, bony fingers
Weeping, weedy hairs draped from spongy knobs
Knotted webs to catch wandering morsels

Clockwork raking movements, rapid, oft blurred
One appendage folds in, then another
His tongue protrudes from gaped jaws, slurps odd bits
Raised from fetid depths by scalding up-drafts

Translucent skin reveals inner workings
The slow snaking progress of encased sludge
Converted waste, soon deposited coiled
Piles where kernels, passed through whole, are nurtured

Extreme, tangled blossoms sprout in due time
Brightly painted, baleful blooms raised to seed
His children dire, dangled on twisted stalks,
Populate a world made in his image

17 comments:

Elise B. said...

Hey, well... the pic isn't really a real drawing. I drew it really quickly on my computer, with my mouse. It was fun. :)

I know, I feel bad for the dogs who are just a little shy that people might not want. But... fear is one step closer to biting.

Yeah, we're still working on getting a chihuahua. And Goliath is a great name! :)

Francis Scudellari said...

I like the drawing ... especially the glint you put in the dog's eye. It turned out well for a computer scribble.

Anonymous said...

Your own personal decaying Golem perhaps?
I'm back...
Take care.
~JD

Book Calendar said...

Hello, I rather like the imagery in the poem. It reminds me of Audrey from Little Shop of Horrors.

Francis Scudellari said...

Hi JD,
Welcome back ... I'll check your site right after I type this :). Golem is actually a quite fitting reference.

Francis Scudellari said...

Feed me! ... yeah, I can see that too :).

Nature Nut /JJ Loch said...

What fantastic imagery!!! Do visit the Supplicant's blog. You both are FANTASTIC!!!

JJ :D

Francis Scudellari said...

Thanks so much JJ ... and I'm a regular visitor to JD's site, so no worries there. In fact, I just saw your comment on his latest :).

Marmelade said...

i really love it. you are very good at creating sensations with words.

Francis Scudellari said...

Hi Marmelade ... thanks so much. I'm getting spoiled by your praise :).

Jena Isle said...

You make one imagine vividly. That is what I like in your poetry - mysterious and expressive. It gives the reader a choice to interpret the poem according to her own perception; and of course this perception is based on her own personal experiences and upbringing. Gadamer said, for something to be called a work of art (like poetry, paintings), it must have an active interaction with the reader...that is for each reader, there is one unique interpretation. May I know, what yours is? (grins). Mine is a "being" which is a cross between, a slithering (snake or octopus) thing and a human form.

Francis Scudellari said...

Hi Jena,
I'm definitely big on ambiguity ... giving the reader multiple interpretations to choose from. Yours is very close to what I intended ... I had a crustacean in mind but it was actually a spider shrimp (I think that's what it's called ... I saw it on a nature video).

Jena Isle said...

Great, with numerous appendages...Thanks for the nice post. happy blogging.

Francis Scudellari said...

Hi Jena,
Thanks for the nice comments :). I appreciate you taking the time to leave them, and dig the references to art theory ... I'm a geek for that kind of stuff.

Jena Isle said...

You are welcome...and thanks too for that great poetry...keep posting.

Bobby Revell said...

I love the strange morbidity of this poem. I once had a girlfriend with transparent flesh and I loved watching the muscle fibers undulate beneath. If I hugged her with my eyes closed, her epidermal sheath felt quite normal - though my friends and family branded her a freak. I loved her anyway...hahaha!

Your poem is very creative and extremely weird, something I really like!

Francis Scudellari said...

Hi Bobby,
Yours is one of the more interesting comments I've had ... I've never heard of a skin condition like that. I'm a big fan of weird too, and I'll try to expose more of that in my writing :).