poem ending with a line from another poet
I do not want the skies to open
again & the Writ to sift down
like dust from a mill. It settles
nothing, as I said to our neighbor
the infidel before firing
into the air. We were getting married,
our daughter to his son, & showing
our teeth. My house is your house-
hold now, he said, & I almost wept
with rage. Let us pray together,
I should’ve offered, give thanks
for nothing, for prayers
ignored & virtues
made compulsory, & therefore
meaningless. There is no God
but God, & I’m still His faithful
cur, charged with the hard work
of making people happy.
__________
[Poetry Thursday – dead link]
Thanks, January!
To read other responses to this week’s challenge, go here.
Clash of cultures. I like the uneven pace and wording in this poem.
It is like having an inner conversation with self. I like it.
Wow! You’ve taken my line and made it all your own. I love the tension in the poem, lines like “wept with rage” stay with me.
And I agree what’s already been said, the pacing suits the poem.
Nice take on the prompt!
Confound-it!
You really take “happy” to the mat here.
showing / our teeth – I like that a whole bunch.
Wonderfully frustrated poem, like a bulldog shaking a squirrel. Well done, Dave.
That was utterly FABULOUS. The blending of the final line was seamless. Fantastic. :)
Forceful energy in this poem, you can really feel the tension rising, loved the line “wept with rage.”
(Thanks, all. I’m away from home for a few days and not on my own computer, so my comments will be sparse here even though blog posts continue to appear automagically.)
Wonderful prose and your line breaks are fascinating.
Very well set mood.
“and showing our teeth”….I like this poem….more each time that i read it!
Hi all – I’m a little abashed at all the comments this thing garnered. I almost like it now myself! But I think I’ll still file it under “interesting exercise.”
Thanks to everyone for stopping by.