Saturday, December 13, 2008

Taking your welcomes

Saturday, December 13, 2008

Stuffed faces with eyes bigger

Than their guilt forget to thank whoever for the diseases the pilgrims brought.

Rape and pillage have no place in poems,

Ghostly men having ghastly children.

We all eat, eat, eat.

Feed, feed, feed.

Grace your tables and face your partners,

Drink, drink, drink.

I used to wonder why we had to tell everyone what

we were thankful for. We already know:

Uncle Paul thanks business

Uncle Saul thanks his mistress

And Uncle Sammy thanks me.

Does dry turkey mean bad intentions?

I act like it's Pesach and keep the door open

and wine in his glass. Was he there

when the women were piled upon

like loose footballs?

1 comments:

djamberj@gmail.com said...

Uncle Paul thanks business

Uncle Saul thanks his mistress

And Uncle Sammy thanks me.

Does dry turkey mean bad intentions?


I really dig this part. And the reference to football. This is one of your most successful poems that has a strong social commentary. The images of turkey, football, Uncle Sam, ghostly men, ghastly children weave a chaotic narrative.

I do think there are natural stanza breaks in this poem. The first is after Drink. drink drink, and the second after Does dry turkey mean bad intentions. I like how it SOUNDS that way, and it also gives the reader half a second to get the "AH HA!" moment throughout the poem, instead of trying to deconstruct it in the end.

Great work.

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