Vesuvius

have you ever considered that

the moth wanted to

drown in hot wax, or

burn in the flame

he threw himself into?

“look at that fly”

they say holding their breath

as the creature crawls

closer and closer and

into the mouth of the

flesh-eating plant

“stupid fly, if it was me…”

they whisper, but stop short of 

finishing the thought as they 

begin to consider

the unthinkable: “what if it knows what it’s doing?”

how would they justify

their petty lives then?

the moth is one  with 

the bright, radiant flame

the fly is bathing in

a sweet solvent of ecstasy

now, imagine the red lips of Vesuvius

draw close till your lashes are singed

peer into the schism

and ask yourself:

"what am I living for?"

Reviews

[Lorry]

And the advanced civilisation watches our little blue/green pebble unnoticed from above, shaking their head at our caveman attitudes of burning and killing anything not like us, living the most unnatural of lives, thinking ourselves technologically advanced, as we stumble through life staring at those mesmeric little screens in our hands, sighing all the while and wishing they'd packed their death Ray to put us out of our misery.

[Laz K.]

Thank you for reading and commenting.

[Coyote Poetry]

I liked the questions asked in the poetry.
"their petty lives then?
the moth is one with
the bright, radiant flame
the fly is bathing in
a sweet solvent of ecstasy"
The wonder of death kiss. I have been tempted. Death did not want me. Powerful words shared laz. I did enjoyed the poem.
Coyote

[barleygirl]

Stunning poem & stunning reviews, all of which have taught me much. I can't even touch this, after reading Jacob's review, of course. But I will say that this past summer when one of California's wildfires was raging quite close to where I live, I was on a mandatory evacuation for 10 days, but I didn't evacuate. I didn't care if I got caught in the flame. Thanks for superb writing that elicits so much from the best minds at the cafe (((HUGS))) Fondly, Margie

[Amber Stone]

this is....simply majestic! incredible crazy amazing master-piece! thank you L.K. for for give more new fool through your work...i humbly second jacob erin-cilberto's comment/review about this work too. never give up!

sincerely,
Amber

[Delmar Cooper]

Excellent work and Jacob has given you a true appreciation of its worth. I second his opinion.

[Laz K.]

Thank you!

[jacob erin-cilberto]

I like this on several levels. I used to show my classes a video about Emily Dickinson. Several poets talked about her, one being Adrienne Rich who referred to Emily as writing with the power of Mt. Vesuvius.
Part of the video talked about Emily's fantasies about men, mostly poets, even though she had no real relationships...and in that part, they showed a moth being drawn to a flame...there was that thought, and Jane Alexander was reading Wild nights by Emily....and there was also a reference to Emily having a hard time with friendships because she wanted her friends to understand her work...and often they couldn't keep up with her.
and when you talk about the fly, I think of her poem "I heard a fly buzz when I died"
and about all of her friends who died from consumption. The window of her bedroom had a distant view of the graveyard where many of her friends were buried.
I think her poem "I felt a funeral in my brain" might have been inspired by all of that.
often as poets we dig deeply into our own consciousness...and I for one ask this question often.
"what am I living for?"
Damn, this poem got me going....sorry for the babbling review.
j.

[Laz K.]

Gosh, I enjoyed reading your review immensely!

The E.D. references are intriguing. She's one of those enigmatic personalities that a lot of people are drawn to, because of the mystery, the secrecy that surrounds her life - and of course because of her poetry. I always thought, if only I had a time machine...(hah...)

Poets can tap into something that can only be described as "fire" "lava" some primordial force that is both powerful, beautiful but also uncontrollable and can be destructive. But, it is a creative energy that is pushing its way to the surface. If it breaks through, then it may solidify into a great poem - like one of ED's pieces.

Thanks for this informed feedback. I enjoy conversations like this a lot.

[jacob erin-cilberto]

Emily has been my favorite poet since the first time I read her.
Plath is a distant second, and Ferlinghetti and Creeley tied for third. They all move me and inspire me so much. Your poems are doing that as well.

[Laz K.]

This will sound corny, but it's true nevertheless: I feel the same about your writing. There's sometimes that rare feeling that you actually found a person who's looking out at the world through the same window.

Honored to be in your company!