Ina. fr

when you kiss someone and it is dark.  it is also dark inside your mouth. teeth, the old folks say, shift all the time

to their lowest point. a root canal? the troth no good tongue dare sink to. a cavity; the crevices of small spaces. like

time perhaps or the way a TIC TAC turns your insides into the Negro you refused to read your last poem to.

that's why the parents at the PTA  meeting screamed that critical race theory is bad for your heart. fingering the holes

where my dukey braids were last seen, this is how Jesus must of rehearsed  his kisses: first he lifts the veils of the

unforgiven. then he hurls his young back forward

as if catching in his breath the ungathering requirements of mankind. then his lips touch the lips of those coming slowly

from the ICU where the ventilator still hums the final saliva songs of someone you couldn't dare to lose. 

Reviews

[redzone]

we live in a society based on self/self interest that depends on our willingness to "turn the other cheek" and accept the 'kiss of death'.... and yes, that kiss, filled with decay and cavities and heartlessness, fills its darkness with the ones we love, but more, with humanity beyond ourselves...

who would want to make peace with this??? except perhaps, people, in spite of all logic and evidence, believe that we live in the best possible world, the greatest country in the world.... that kiss is impossible without complicity....

Dana, your poems (much like Jacob's) takes me to many thoughts and places.... and I enjoy the journey...

[h d e rushin]

thank you dearest for starting my day with your inspiration.....dana

[Carlos Lorenzo Estrada]

You are a far more greater forgiving soul then I. It is difficult to find empathy toward those who disregard my humanity and existence in this society. Those that 'Other' me for who their eyes only see the color, not the human being. But I move forward opening my heart in hopes they can see in my eyes a reflection of themselves in a human level. My art is just as much for them as it is for everybody. In truth I would never want to be Jesus for perfect asks too much of us. Rather I would be Paul, for to aspire toward my better angel knowing I will always be a flawed imperfect man. But to hope to love perfect.

[h d e rushin]

yes Paul, who was approaching Damascus (near Aleppo where today Assad gassed little children) saw God in a heavenly light. He could give a master class on imperfection perhaps. Thanks for the inspiration my friend...dana

[Corset]

I was getting a lil bit worried, just a tad. I think Jesus was supposed to be virginal like his mother, I know he had a tongue but whether it visited the dark crevices of any old whatever I couldn't guess. But being a healthy young man of 30ish his b@lls must have been as black past blue than anything thing I might say to hang myself with. Missed you. Don't ever pretend to be writers blocked again, it's nerve-wracking, and we know you're faking it cause your mind never stops going kinda like the energizer bunnies tongue. :D

[h d e rushin]

i never ever have writers block. But Comcast is the devil and they will all go to hell for disconnecting my internet for non-payment. I missed you terribly....dana

[Corset]

I knew it, may badgers infest in their armpits! The freaking nerve of these businesses!

[jacob erin-cilberto]

This is so deep.....that dark place inside the mouth...that dark place that prejudice takes us.
And giving that up for some is like a root canal with no novacaine.

Jesus would have kissed any one of us....any one of us.
and someday we will all meet the maker no matter what color we are, no matter if we are poor or rich...
and will either kiss us or tell us to kiss off.
j.

[h d e rushin]

while my internet was lost (Comcast is the devil) I had to write my poems down on paper or in my journal like Wordsworth. It was hard but I survived it. Thanks brother for still thinking of me. dana

[mattavelli]

Hello, dana! :)
There's not much optimism in this, death, hatred, and cavities. Haha
Our society was built on selfishness. Maybe that wasn't a great idea. Id like to say things are getting better, but I'm thinking they're going to get worse.
Thanks for the cheery thoughts before bedtime. :p

[h d e rushin]

I agree, I agree, I agree. Covid is not the same as a stolen car or an overgrown garden. I wrote (Ithink) a hundred Covid inspired poems over the last 6 weeks. I think they are getting better but then again, perhaps everyone I know is just dying off. Whatever. Thanks for stopping by. dana

[mattavelli]

Last year, the at home classes went very smoothly for my son. I kept him home for the whole year, while most of his classmates went into the classroom following the new year break. In two weeks, he'll be going back to his school for second grade. I expect he will catch the virus and bring it home for my wife and I to take to work with us. We're both vaccinated, he's not. I've been giving him lots of zinc and vitamin C. It feels like the towns been burning for a year, and we've done what we can to help put the fire out, but with schools opening, it feels like we're about to grab our gas cans and reignite it all.