that gurgling brown hunger you feel deep down it wasn’t you
god knows who put it there no it’s only natural it was she
who planted the initial seed grown up into a succulent leaf
frowning nature abhors a vacuum and she wouldn’t couldn’t
endear herself any more if you sustained such a saddeningly
blank space she’s given you the device for devising wickedly
clever ways of consuming it would be a godless shame
to leave the engine idling now what you eat doesn’t mean
as much as the act of eating itself actively naming god’s
creatures great small may not give you dominion or merit
ownership but ingesting them sure does dainty fingered
sentimentality lost her privileged place when steely
eyed invention serendipitously shoved a crappy cushion
throne up to your table’s edge it’s a divine and kingly right
to take your fill with hands nimbly fashioned for taking
all that’s managed eon after eon to crawl out of a world
engendering slime until there’s nothing left but the awful
runny pallid mucous you’ll sneak back to sated at last
This week at Big Tent Poetry, Deb Scott suggests stretching different poetic muscles. I tried to go "against type" (for me) with this unpunctuated, second-person, prosaic block of text. It's inspired by an article I read (The Scales Fall by Elizabeth Kolbert) about the collapse of fisheries in our oceans due to overconsumption. We're at the dawning of what biologist Daniel Pauly describes as the Myxocene epoch in which the seas will give forth only inedible slime.
19 comments:
that gurgling brown hunger you feel deep down it wasn’t you
god knows who put it there no it’s only natural it was she
who planted the initial seed grown up into a succulent leaf
frowning nature abhors a vacuum and she wouldn’t couldn’t
endear herself any more if you sustained such a saddeningly
blank space she’s given you the device for devising wickedly
clever ways of consuming it would be a godless shame
to leave the engine idling now what you eat doesn’t mean
as much as the act of eating it#### actively naming god’s
creatures great small may not give you dominion or merit
ownership but ingesting them sure does dainty fingered
sentimentality lost her pri#ileged place back when steely
eyed invention #erendipitously shoved a crappy cushion
throne up to your table’s edge it’s a divine and kingly right
to take your fill with hands nimbly fashioned for taking
### that’s managed eon after eon to crawl out of a world
engendering slime until there’s nothing left but the awful
runny pallid mucous you’ll sneak back to sated at last
@hb You've summed it up perfectly... "self vs all". And self is winning handily.
Francis,
What can I say. This is a superb look at the dangers of over indulgence and the weakness of temptation.
Of course the plague of evilution can bear full responsibility!!!
A word challenge admirably achieved, yet again!!!
Best wishes,
Eileen
Francis over indulgence is our downfall nicely put!
Pamela
Francis, Simply put, WoW! I love this piece. Evilution, indeed. Thanks for making God female. You rock. ha! ~Brenda
This makes us out to be unfeeling, greedy beings intoxicated by our own omnipotence, Francis. Hardly fair!
I absolutely love this indelicate overindulgence in words and images that clearly and effectively allows us to see exactly what is being said. Hats off to you Francis, this one is a true feast,
Elizabeth
Well written to prompt. Way to go.
It comes down to survival of the greediest - who, of course, will eat THEMSELVES...
it is that gurgling brown hunger that 'grows' the evilution. A double dipped read!
pungent words.... makes me wanna just cuddle right up against another person... it is deadly being human these days... we are nothing but consumers of our own fate... oh well... the form was wonderful.....
nicely EVILUTED francis....thanks for this
Well written, clever, original. The title was 'inspired.'
The pacing and sounds of this poem are remarkable. Driving, relentless. Good tone for the topic.
I like the way typical phrases are interspersed and completely remade.
Francis...
can crow steal... errr... i mean, borrow this word you coined (evilution)?
and she is a conscientious thief; she gives reference...
:)
Thousand of tons of plastic and other poisonous rubbish are killing fish and polluting our seas
and waterways.With a little thought
none of this needs to happen. However it will continue to happen because of the basic and flawed human being who is blind to real beauty, has no appreciation of the wonder of the natural world and is only concerned with materialism and consumption, force fed to them by evil money grubbers.These are my thoughts on the matter.
@Eileen Thanks again... I always appreciate a gentle prodding.
@Pamela Yes, and we'll never learn the lesson.
@Brenda I'm just doing my small part to balance things out.
@Derrick I like to think of the voice here as a bit devilish, appealing to our worser natures (and through the humor hopefully getting people to see that and move in the opposite direction).
@Elizabeth Thanks... it came together once I abandoned any thoughts of structuring it.
@Gerry Much obliged Mr. Boyd!
@Mary Thanks
@Stan Yes, that's the biggest shame of it. We don't even recognize how we're sabotaging our own future.
@Susan We need an appetite suppressant :)
@MsPie We've developed a bit of toxic touch.
@Wayne I'm a devoted evilutionist :)
@Diane It all started with the title, actually.
@Deb Thanks... it was a great prompt this week.
@hb You are of course always welcome to use anything that appears on this blog for your own creative purposes. I give you full permission in advance.
@Rall You've summed it up very well.
well... generous friends make us rich...
:)
thanks a lot, Francis!
and this is the link:
http://dearteachercrow.blogspot.com/2010/08/hystorical-observation.html
Love the "gurgling brown hunger"! How better to describe the thing that drives us. Nicely done, Francis!
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