I Notice I Am Crazy Now

 

 

I Notice I Am Crazy Now

 

This morning I turn to my place

of coffee with the cardinal's mate

She does not have his deepest red.

She is the gray place on the limb.

 

The reverberating sound of clicks

could be a spigot or a clock

A whine has hidden in my voice

A boil has settled on my back

This solitude disturbs my rest.

 

I drive a car that will not shift

I listen to the motor flood

I dance on water pipes they laid

just yesterday beside the bridge

to filter poison from the creek

 

I see newspapers near the road

in plastic just in case it rains

I read a poet that hates a crow

I stir a live chill from my tea

and watch the dew fall from a leaf

 

I mean to sit in rabbit fur

and watch the swams swim

by my door

I want to whimper with my nerves

or steal the circus strong man's hair

I am not overly concerned

I've seen the world from here to there

I am enlightened by the sun

I see a lone star ride a hawk

I eat my rage of teeth clamped frowns

and spread tremendous bits of bait

into a smiling mirror's face

 

My head is muffled when I sleep

I dream of glass that always breaks

I feel probation on my skin

Today my legs are slow to bend.

An angel whips me into rage

with cotton feathers and a veil

 

I notice I am crazy now.

 

Reviews

[W.k.kortas]

At first glance, this seems to be a portrait of a crazy person, with the quickly-presented and unrelated images which come in rapid-fire order...but there is the overriding feel of longing and perhaps loneliness that ties the varied, vivid, and masterfully drawn images together. You can stack this piece against anything written by anyone, anywhere, and at any time, and it will hold its own in comparison.

[cyanskye]

Very interesting imagery. I like the flight of ideas and the marching feel. I have a question? Did you mean for the 5th stanza to be the longest or was it to be broken into two? I found when I read it through I wanted a break after "I've seen the world from here to there". I am a total newbie to most poetry so am really curious, not trying to nit pick. Thanks to W.K.Kortas for the read.
V5C

[Jenny Davis]

The mood is divine in this piece as is the flow and imagery! The idea of the narrator thinking he/she is crazy is interesting, but like others have said, not quite believable since they are observing such simple things and seeing them much deeper...sound like a writer's mind to me! A fine poem for any day :)

[R J Askew]

Great stuff. I love the shards of life...like the plastic on the papers. I have never seen a cardinal bird -- unhave in UK -- but I know about them from Writers cafe now. People seem to write of them often. Symbolic birds. Love word spigot. Like boil on back. The way life is. Also like pipes to fix creek. Ach, the things we notice when we are awake! So poem speaks more of observation to me that craziness. Though maybe what we observe says much about how we are inside. Dew falling from leaf shows heightened micro observing. Hmm, that is a bit intense! Lone star riding hawk and the eating of rage takes it to another surreal level as you shift through the gears of the mood you are in. Legs slow to bend sort of lands poem back in reality, but then you zap in another couple of images. Lovely job. Like giving a mental tuning fork a good thwack for the hell of it! Definitely not crazy.

[Stiver]

oooll...I like this. The narrator's tone is so fabulous. You created a pleasurable dichotomy for the reader, where the narrator says that he is crazy, but the resolve in his words make the reader doubt that he's totally crazy. It goes along with the old adage that "if you have the wherewithal to THINK that you are crazy, then you're probably not." This was a total pleasure.

Thanks to Emily for sending this my way.

[Ken Simm.]

I love this. It could be a song by Dory Previn or Judee Sill. Such excellence.

[Siddartha Beth Pierce]

Such an enchanting poem. Abstract and yet tangible. Solid and evasive at the same time. Such beautiful dichotomy. Such lovely meanderings of though and emotion. Wonderful work. I truly delighted in this read. Thank you for sharing your immense talent.
Light,
Siddartha

[Emily B]

The tone, the subject, the pace remind me of Edna St. Vincent Millay. I like the detached look at such tangible images. Such clarity of mind to contrast with that well-stated last line. I think your every work finds its way to my favorites. When are you going to publish so that I can put them on my bookshelf?