A narrative free verse poem about contemporary North American ‘gory’ consumption; consumerism as experienced by a delirious lawyer trying to make sense of the colour yellow ‘triggered’ by his adverse reaction to a shampoo label in the bath.
- miller
A glimpse of yellow in the Western World
I. – The Bath
And antithesis opens:
hope’s the last evil.
pandora’s box made myth so level
our world was flat before it was round
consumers, consume stare a sight-see around
the way of the West is now media thrills
your blazin’ new sports car zips zero to nil
racy shampoo sticker, in primary yellow
lies upon la blonde tub
with the ring and fair circle
chokin’ the plug, with drain’d promises for:
BONUS!
33% MORE
than our 300mL
Supplied to the retailer
at no extra
cost.
saffron bath water starts to gush o’er
french kissin’ a typhoon lagoon
wheat sheaf manes of glazed lions and lioness
gorging on necks growls, snarls, howls
then asleep in the swirling curry dust
in death’s mellow embrace
desert dancing Roman faces fists
the crowd roar for MORE! MORE!
and you’ll sit alone alone,
tableaux pour deux
will Monsieur Dom’ nineteen fifty two, do?
golden chalice so callous but the bubbles are so
soothing catching up on the latest
homeless beatings on you tube
before plastic yet, les yeux, nes pas?
neon plastic is everywhere – in a golden rod jet -
then auctioning, ignoble, soul?
clasping ticket stubs,
collecting trinkets from tax exempt charity balls
and balling beneath a crystal chandelier
all night long… til’ dawn’s heavy lids
excuse with a yawn.
II. – The Men’s Room
trickl’d translucent yellow, of my steamy urine,
gurgles and bubbles i stand looking down
at the coward puck urinal piss’d by the sound
little dots like sand, wisp pixels on pants
sand of the sandbox, a mountain for ants
sand may last forever,
though oceans may parch
daylight shroud’d in smog
and bombs in the dark
MORE! MORE! MORE!
at no extra
cost?
lost in a corn field, a rain storm of maize
amber galoshes, umbrella and coat
shielded by rays and waves of whispering light
hope: the greatest lie ever told?
III. – Painting the Garage (Almost)
at the tip of my brush, yell’ow
the bristles neat needles (pricks at attention)
the armies of nations with nuclear mention
Wopdi-F#$@in’-doo! 33% MORE!!!
build how many schools without nuclear war?
arms race lost, a glass eye panacea
for thrill’ions and thrill’ions
yellow journalism ensured
no taxes dropped or homeless beds
new hospitals, transit,
improvements galore?
blind retail therapy
for buyers in-store
credit counseling,
wealth creation is, procreative?
consoling debts with a song
possessions, chattels titles deeds
will’s in the wasteland of splendor and plenty
of waste and haste
of what can I be certain?
Our Wants have become our needs
IV. – Out of the Office
And catharsis winks;
o’ hope’s evil release?
my pupil,
you’ve shed your last lash
a tear in the universe
a sphere made anew
forget flat and round
earth’s accord: a peek’d sty
humankind connect’d
by just six degrees
of twelve billion eyes
yet some blink in refrain
may you seek good in this
may you rest assuredly
if only, for a brief escape from
CNN
No Comments Yet
No comments yet.
