< happy father's day >
#1



                < happy father's day >
               
                fully dangerous
                you are the hot pistol
                that seduced mom
                and you're looking at me right now
               
                laughing
               
                men of my family
                i invoke your names
                in fear and disgust
               
                i dedicate this day
                to 12-gauge shotguns
                hunting knives
                dead animals
                aftershave
                racist jokes
                and contempt for women
               
                dearest dad
                here's a shotgun for your head
                i'll angle it up before i fire it
                so i can watch pieces of your face
                drip from the ceiling
               
                                - - -


                                                                                                                a brightly colored fungus that grows in bark inclusions
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#2
(06-15-2014, 07:57 PM)rayheinrich Wrote:  


                < happy father's day >
               
                fully dangerous
                you are the hot pistol
                that seduced mom
                and you're looking at me right now
               
                laughing
               
                men of my family
                i invoke your names
                in fear and disgust
               
                i dedicate this day
                to 12-gauge shotguns
                hunting knives
                dead animals
                aftershave
                racist jokes
                and contempt for women
               
                dearest dad
                here's a shotgun for your head
                i'll angle it up before i fire it
                so i can watch pieces of your face
                drip from the ceiling
               
                but no
                i'm not man enough to do that
               
                lucky you
               
                happy father's day
               
                                - - -


I assume this was meant to be facetious. So I think you should include one of those talking fish in there somewhere, and maybe a cheerful line about waltzing. Possibly a happy snowman made of cement to.
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#3
you make it feel personal whether it is or isn't i like the drip from the ceiling stanza as it was the crux of the poem but what else i really like was not noticing the lack of punctuation. okay you had a wavy - but i didn't count that. excellent, i wish all those who write without punctuation read this poem first in order to see how well it can be done.
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#4
I like the all lowercase. It is an effective counterpoint to the heavy subject which is powerful. This hits me hard. Really. Well done!
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#5
(06-16-2014, 11:46 AM)Brownlie Wrote:  I assume this was meant to be facetious. So I think you should include one of those talking fish in there somewhere, and maybe a cheerful line about waltzing. Possibly a happy snowman made of cement to.

Patricide is painless, it brings on many changes...

It's facetious to the extent that racism is whimsical and bride-burning is amusing.
In this context the talking fish would be reciting Mein Kampf and the happy snowman's
cement would contain ashes from Auschwitz*.



*Ah those Nazis! While the soles of their hobnailed boots have pretty much worn out,
those facetious fascists are still good for a metaphor for evil or two.






(06-16-2014, 11:56 AM)billy Wrote:  you make it feel personal whether it is or isn't i like the drip from the ceiling stanza as it was the crux of the poem but what else i really like was not noticing the lack of punctuation. okay you had a wavy - but i didn't count that. excellent, i wish all those who write without punctuation read this poem first in order to see how well it can be done.

It was written in the voice of my cousin Judy-Ann. Her father and the men
from that side of her family are the ones depicted. (My dad, by the way,
was a good trade-unionist liberal who participated in the voter registration
drives of the 50's. Got his windows shot out and all!)

Aw, thanks for the punctuation compliment. Smile

When people say "without punctuation", they usually mean "without punctuation marks".
The poem above is punctuated; it just uses word rhythm, thematic shifts,
line breaks, and blank lines for punctuation instead of those itty-bitty marks.


                                                                                                                a brightly colored fungus that grows in bark inclusions
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#6
(06-16-2014, 02:20 PM)rayheinrich Wrote:  Aw, thanks for the punctuation compliment. Smile

When people say "without punctuation", they usually mean "without punctuation marks".
The poem above is punctuated; it just uses word rhythm, thematic shifts,
line breaks, and blank lines for punctuation instead of those itty-bitty marks.


exactly why it works :J:
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