Mary L. Slocum

Assorted Poems

HISTORY OF A CAPTIVE

The black and white Indian’s head of the test pattern

Kept me company early Saturday morning

When I was finally tall enough to reach the Sylvania.

Bravely the Indian and I kept watch

For the arrival of Bullwinkle, his pal, Rocky, Beany and Cecil, and Tom Terrific.

The only child’s Saturday morning friends.

This peer group taught me morals, values,

The good guy always wins

And how to run down an enemy with a steam roller.

 

Now grown I watch wars and riots, live as they happen.

Follow scuds directly to their target.

See similarities and suffering in enemies, as well as friends.

I’m finding less and less entertainment value here.

Wondering if this counts as that fifteen minutes of fame

Allotted this dead body,  the one in the foreground.

Attention spans don’t stretch 15 minutes, anymore.

 

 

 

 

B for Buttercup

You remind me of the Buttercup,

the under the chin, butter lovin memories.

Michigan Bulb Company said I won em!

A packet full of seeds

came with my order.

New gardener gold, I was a winner.

Spread em in the front of my home, proud.

Happy winner, front yard beamin yellow.

Happy and proud, I was when I met you.

Brought you home too, winner!

Spread ya around to friends and family,

Proud and happy.

By the next year

Roots deep, reseeded, spread

Where ya don’t want em.

Gardner  learns definition of “invasive”.

Gardner gives up manicures

for the garden- dirt deep around the nails,

fingers filter roots out as you pull, deeper still,

uprooted, compost piles.

Our marriage filed now under buttercup.

Your face gone sprouts still invasive

reach into corners of my future.

Ever vigilant, filtering dirt through fingers,

Pulling out every last root.

Slugs and bugs won’t even eat them.

Yellow burden of my history.

 

My Rant for Poetry

Some damn fool said, “Poetry is dying.” And

I realize that obscure, condescending, ego centric

words on paper

never did make other’s chests swell or

place that tear behind that eye, trickling.

Today poetry speaks, sings

no fancy circuitous tricks,

more of a swan lake glide

in calm breezes.

Poetry has matured into

communication.

Poetry  is the shortened voice

Straight through the heart

where the cards are on the table.

Slight of hand is entertaining,

holding- hands speaks more.

There was a time when poetry

required form to show off

it’s direction,

there was a time when working hard

at meaning was a reader’s job.

In a world of twits and twitters

one more job is enough to loose

one more reader who won’t believe

you know what you’re talking about.

Today poetry speaks the language

Of the people. People will decide

For themselves quality messages.

The gage of letters behind a name

does not determine quality,

does not help reader wrap their

tongue around emotions

feed the soul.

Today, until I die

I want poetry

By the bucket and barrel,

Wanna wallow in it

Never bathe it off.

NEHI

Nehi orange drink

in the heat

with a burger or hot dog

made your day

Fizzy

turned your tongue

Sunset.

Nehi orange drink

vienna sausages and saltine crackers

sustenance

for trout fishing

with dough balls

of

balloon bread

rolled round

in your palm made you

Buddha like

Saving worm’s lives.

Nehi orange drink

Made smiles glow on company

Visitin sittin and sippin

On syrupy southern summer porch

Gossip giggling in the

Hot still humid

Orange air.

Butcherbird

I thought I identified

The gray bird in the rainstorm as a
butcherbird

Enamored, book says they impale their
quarry on sticks

Or thorns

Then I find the real Butcherbird is
from Australia

And this one is a Northern shrike

I am disappointed

Like in the horror flick

When they cut away

Before the slaughter.

 

 

 

 

THE WELL

I

Mortality tapped me on the shoulder like an old familiar friend

On a fated Memorial day

While I worked on my well.

Deep inside it is algae and slime.

In the dark

The light floats

Out of reach,

In a perfect 0

At the top

In the dark and wet

You will have time to contemplate

All the ways

Death will come.

You will bleed

From the cut

You received

On the way down.

You will loose enough

Blood to pass out.

You will drown.

You will exhaust

Your energy.

Your legs already ache

From lively treading,

You will simply stop.

You will drown.

You will get a chill,

From the many you have

Already

You will get the final.

Your body's temperature

Will drop.

Eventually, if you are

Not already,

You will be in shock,

And you will stop shivering,

Stop thinking

Of ways which

Always end

In drowning.

II

You don't want

To drown.

At least not

With a last

Thought of drowning.

You know none

Of the neighbors

Are home

But you call,

Now and again,

And you comfort

Yourself

With the thought

That you won't

Have to pay

The bills

On the coffee table.

You won't have to

Wash dishes,

Ever again,

And you smile,

From the dark.

You smile and keep treading.

Brace yourself

Above the water.

Brick to hand,

Brick to feet.
Now and again,

You call.

You know

Nobody's home

And if they

Were to find you

You'd have to

Pay the bills,

Go to work,

Play the game,

And you call

Less often.

Your knees

Will not hold you up,

Just above the water,

And your blood

Is dripping across

You from a place

On your head

You can't locate

And you're sure

That your mother

Will look great in black.

After all

It will make her

Look slimmer,

And you know

She'll hardly mourn,

Cause she hardly feels,

And she'll disassociate

And your children, too

Will wonder

Where she went.

So you call

Anyway,

So why not.

If you don't call

They'll say it was

Suicide

And your kids

Won't get the insurance.

Then you remember

How bad and bloated

That two week body looked

When they pulled him

From the river

With his white,

White bloated skin.,

So you hope they find you soon,

Soon, cause you're sure

You never choose this.

You never wanted to look

That bad and bloated.

There are no fishes

Here to nibble your flesh

And you loved it

When your lovers nibbled.

Then you laugh and call again,

Start planning

Who you'll haunt,

Who you'll want to

Come back for,

Become their spirit -guide

And you think of ambrosia

You can taste the coconut.

You begin to look forward

To playing the harp

Cause you could never

Carry a tune in a bucket,

Bucket of water

In a well

Where you call

And call and call.

III

You know

You'll- miss your kids,

Wish you could hug them,

Right now

And you try

To make that list,

Of the things you'll miss

But nothing compares to

You'll miss your kids.

And you call from the dark

And you don't smile

And you call

Want them so badlv

That you ache

And call and call

And call till finally

The fates hear.

Bring someone,

Someone who asks

"Where are you?"

And for a second...

You're not sure...

For a second

You don't know

But finally

You can say

"I'm in my well".

 

.

REVENGE

MANY CALL REVENGE SWEET. I HAVE TASTED IT,

I ADMIT A PAY BACK,

A PAY BACK, MAY COME INSTANTLY BEHIND AN INJUSTICE

OR SIMMER ON THE BACK BURNER UNTIL THE MOMENT PRESENTS ITSELF.

I DO LOVE THE MOMENT, MY DEVILS DANCE,SING,

AND PAT, PAT, PAT ME ON MY BACK,

PRIDE LIKE SODA AND VINEGAR

FROTHS UP FROM A POCKET IN MY STOMACH SWELLING

DELIGHT, KNOWS SUCCESS

AND THE PAIN, PAIN THAT HAD ME ON MY KNEES

RISES TO THE MARTYR'S PEDISTAL

A BATTLE WON IN ONE SMALL ACT OF REVENGE

THE TONGUE FROZEN TO METAL CANNOT SING AWAY

SHADOWS STILL CLINGING IN THE SWIRL

AND ROLL OF IT ALL. GUILT

CARRYING THE SWEET TASTE INTO MY FUTURE.

This is the closest to a spiritual poem I have. I do not affiliate with any organized religion.

Conversation on Wilderness

by Mary L. Slocum on Sunday, November 8, 2009 at 2:54pm
And he said, “I believe that anybody who wants to
Spend a year alone in the wilderness, is a little off.”

And I was shocked, lightning struck.
Then he clarified,
“anyone who wants to get away from people.”
And I think,
“He’s seeing Ted Kaczynski ,
the schizophrenic mail bomber.
Then I think, “We ARE dangerous;
us tree huggers, us ramblers of wilderness, us quiet observers.”

And I couldn’t look him in the eye
Cause if he looked in my eyes
He’d see me, Anne Dillard, Thoreau, Audubon and Jesus.
And I say, “…relationship can be with a tree, a bird, a stream.”
No reaction.
And I can’t imagine days of no nature, no birdsong.
And I can’t imagine
Days of people filling all the silence, full to overflowing
Flooding with a cacophony of no silence.

It is all of us speaking with tongues of moss and vine,
Wrapping, caressing our togetherness,
the God in Us.
Soft God on the back of eagles,
God gurgling in the stream,
Rushing around the God bird’s feet
Between the ancient God stones, rolled smooth by the river.

My body’s 60% God water
Splashing in both me and the God puddle
Then kicking up God dust, rising
To mark my trail.

The God smell of the green pines
Fills mine and God’s nose.
Sharp, Christmas brilliant, God moist
In my lungs.

I believe the God in this man, who spoke,
Knows the God in the trees, grass and birds
And will someday introduce him
Saying, “I’d like you to meet God
Here, here, and here.
And he will politely say, “nice to meet you”
But God knows he isn’t ready yet.

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