A Spaniards Cross

Power,to kill

A Spaniards cross, their inquisition ,their bull fight,
Bold matador ,clinically clean etched art in line with her
heart,the tip, a point, a culture to pierce between
The bull,between the horns, between the blades.
Raised to die.... A spectacle.
Special opportunity, to be a bull,to run the alley,to stomp a
drunk,
To die, a spectacle .

A Spaniards cross, she carries those genes,
inside her,
her hips, a matadors storm,
Dark eyed fire,

Black the electric stove top burner,
Small the meat of the child's thumb,
Branded now by the dark burner.
Buttered, to keep the heat in,the scar clear.

The intent?
Indifference.
A Spaniards cross he carries penned in his soul.

to set her cross down,to forgive,to undo the spectacle,to love, to laugh,to smile

Honor their Mother, Honor his Father......
Their weight of pride in me,through me,
Me the cannon fodder.
Raised by her "genes"
Leveled  by her "genes"

Author's Note

Yesterday, The running of the bulls in Pamplona , connection , "Wild Bill" who was gored by a horn in the thigh .

Reviews

[Marie Anzalone]

Recently, a genetic link to the ability to feel happiness was discovered, as was a single specific and intermittant chemical imbalance responsible for suicides. It made me wonder how many other human traits- cruelty, humor, etc. can fit into those spaces between amino acids and sugars? Your lines of a matador's hips and precision... make me wonder how much of it is culture, how much passed on... and how much it has to do with the famed ability of the Spanish as lovers?

[Astro]

Great descriptiveness in this one Lee, and the voice that carries well the attention of the reader. Would make for a good spoken word poem. All death is a spectacle, for it is the only mystery left to solve.

[Aethereal]

A bull fight, the monster without, is a catharsis that tames the monster within us all. Powerful images here!

[lee von cleef]

Slow down, this is one of my fav's.

[waif]

Sometimes I read a poem that makes me excited the way I used to be the night before a holiday, as a child. There's a build-up of contrasting reactions and kind of a mind jumble, and I find myself wishing I could physically handle the words. Or maybe eat them like cookies, one at a time but all in one sitting. This poem is one of those. I celebrate (for the poet) every time I read a poem that hits a mark like this. Hurrah for you.

Superb, truly.

[emmajoy]

'A Spaniards cross he carries penned in his soul. ~ to set her cross down,to forgive,to undo the spectacle,to love, to laugh,to smile .. '

There's a wild touch of magic in this, a marriage of love and all, a melding of past with now.. and goodness knows the future. Both wonder and horror at some of the cruel streaks running longside the passion. Some extravagantly fine phrases - almost too many to quote, If i may, ' A Spaniards cross, she carries those genes, ~ inside her, ~ her hips, a matadors storm, ~ Dark eyed fire, ..'

'Cringed at the butter being put on the burned thumb! Now cold with that thought.

[lee von cleef]

Cold today, but back then it was butter,and a black burner is still very hot, my thumb will agree... thank you for the words, they do add a smile.

[Chris]

sat here thinking on what to say... discarded thing after thing.

I respected the "thought" within this one. The words flowed well.

[TL Boehm]

her hips, a matadors storm,
Dark eyed fire,

Black the electric stove top burner,
Small the meat of the child's thumb,
Branded now by the dark burner.
Buttered, to keep the heat in,the scar clear. I come from a long line of "chilly" types - there is no hot blood in my lineage and maybe that's part of the allure of this poem - the line 'her hips a matador's storm" is just sublime.

[SHEEMA HUQ]

well, there isn't a shortage of disturbing imagery in this poem, quite a dynamic start with the bullfight, unique! I feel that I am a fly on their wall, I can smell their food, sense the heat from the stove, very cleverly pieced together, I thought.

[Carolann Dowsett]

A very vivid image of the depth of life's emotions, love, hope and hate are all clear here. There is also an undertow of violence running through its core. A deep, thought provoking write. Nicely done.

[lee von cleef]

Than you, I stepped inside and worked on me, ya, nuts but I kept trying to find the early dominoes ,Believing if I could stand them again,or just recognize them ,life would be more acceptable.

[Carolann Dowsett]

Well I hope you found what you were looking for. :)

[Frieda P]

This one has my head all muddled, and not knowing what direction to go in, honor, love, genetics, ancestry, pride, there's so much packed into this one. The bull fight is always an intriguing source of interest, I don't think that people realize it's part of a ritual, and/or heritage...it's just seen as cruel in most eyes. I will need to ponder this one for some time...