Perspire turned to sweat
ten degrees ago. My ponytail
drags dew thick dirt, and my alligator
curls at my feet. She is the mother
of deadlines and reptilian
revisions, quick slashes,
aggressive, quick, efficient punctuation,
and bare bones evolution.
Dainty deadly, she demands
coldblooded treks
through swamps, sewers, strip
malls, and cemeteries.
Bring out your dead! Bring out your dead!
The art is in the autopsy,
someone should have said -
but, Lord, it's hot
and hard to be quicker than the rot.
For Hannah's prompt at Real Toads
Thursday, July 21, 2016
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About Me
- Maude Lynn
- Anybody who has survived his childhood has enough information about life to last him the rest of his days. ---Flannery O'Connor
18 comments:
Raise your complaint Mama those alligators are not man made.
Much love...
I enjoyed the metaphorical use of the alligator for this, Mama Zen...works well! Thank you, for joining in!
The art is in the autopsy - wow! Killer line. I like that she drags you through sewers and strip malls...........as always, you rocked the prompt.
That's how I feel right now. Loved.
Oh yes, MomZee, alligators love the autopsy bit if they aren't curling at your feet. A fun read.
..
Oh yes.. I hate editing... but yes I would need that alligator... to bark beside me...
Oh brutal! Alligators abound here in Louisiana, so I read this with a nodding of my head, thinking of the signs posted at our lakefront in warning! Thanks for sharing your totem. :-)
Hee hee. I love you. :) I will treasure this poem forever. It's so perfect, I don't need to say a word.
On a related note, my KIDS found a baby alligator in their grandpa's yard not too long ago while their daddy was mowing.
~Seriously, sitting right at my daughter's feet.
Hard to think of much else except the heat when it is so hot!! (Here in MA too!!) I like how you wove the alligator into this as your "spirit" animal.
Fun to read, if not to experience.
Ha! That's such a witty piece.
Very well penned. :-)
-HA
The perfect totem for you, MZ
:-)
I love how you set up the whole scenario, with crocodile both literal and figurative.
"the art is in the autopsy" Love that. Perfect Mama Zen
ditto Susie's comment.
Clever and stunning at the same time! Love it!
I ignore my gator and my revisions are always later and rot ... it's why you can launch so many pocket rockets. Those final five lines are the very snout and jaws.
Breviary or bestiary, this one is perfect for either. The faith is unvarnished and the encounter pure. Great work, Sherry.
I love this, Mama Zen! These lines particularly stood out for me:
'She is the mother
of deadlines and reptilian
revisions, quick slashes,
aggressive, quick, efficient punctuation,
and bare bones evolution.'
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