Heirlooms

you once dreamed

of a melon

and the boy

who butchered it

with a ballpoint pen

as though he was carving out

the back of the neck

of the white man

who killed his father

long ago on the

Nebraska prairie

 

but now those

melons

sit neatly in a room

under the glow of

ultraviolet lamps

aside the petri dishes

and you watch contently

as the whirring meters

pump plasma into them

and yes

you can feel it inside

 

an eyeball can be peeled

you say

but not like a grape

and anyway

melons should not be tampered with

those small citadels of virtue

wisdom and power

much too much

like us

when we sleep

 

 

 

 

Reviews

[Robin]

the imagination is a glorious thing . as is your uniqueness in symbolic storytelling .

[The Rock And Roll Cowbo..]

Some things are not meant to be messed with... nature and human nature. I mind expanding write.

[roarke]

didn't you mean too instead of to third to last line?

Opening stanza killer wicked.

this is a gem
"and anyway
melons should not be tampered with
those small citadels of virtue"

Always enjoy the tour on the back of your vegetable truck...

[Ed Hart]

steve says hi, seems you're quite popular down under

[asdarkeyesclose]

'an eyeball can be peeled
you say'

always the dark humour, impossible to unravel from your poetry but leaving us feeling human and vulnerable. fantastic

[SkinlessFrank]

apologies to Stephen Crane