I Live In a City of Monsters

Things aren't always what they seem. People aren't always what they seem.

I live in a city of dinosaurs.
They stand still.
And pretend to be structures of steel and drywall.
But I know the truth.
They breathe
And blink
When everybody is focused on traffic
And tabloid scandals
And the incompetent coffee-boy mixing their frothy rush-hour drinks.

 

I live in a city of crying geese.
They moan like sinners.
But I know better.
They're all just faking it to ward off the gunmen.
I envy their longevity:
I went hoarse three weeks ago
And I'm surprised I'm not dead yet.

 

I live in a city of reanimated fossils,
Where I stay skinny so I won't be spotted
As human.
Sometimes, there's a crash
In our sidewalk mobs.
Followed by a cry of pain.
Those are the saddest days.
As we move towards the spotted preserved,
Me, along with my bone brothers,
And they go down beneath the sea of crunching marrow
Like a broke-winged bird.

 

I live in a city of monsters,
Hideous,
Grotesque monsters,
With yellow fingernails
And blood shot eyes.
But they whisper the most beautiful things.
Sometimes,
I wonder if they're really monsters at all.

Reviews

[raining]

this is a poem which i like, there that is enough. i wish i could take this poem and carry it somewhere, and it is summer, and i carry it through the crooked doors of certain mountains we all go to to see sometimes, like we think it is a vacation and we think we know and give up knowing so it wont get in the way, and that is probably how i like this poem.

or i could say the structure is narrative, and you are experimenting with breathing each line, that works well, it is also a variation of things some poets of my (I am an old woman) generation would call stream of consciousness writing, getting all Jungian, and all... of that...thanks raining

[Fabiola Sully]

this is a nice poem. It reminds me of the people I see walking in nyc. They may like different but it's all the same prototype (sp). noobdy wants to be original anymore.

[An owl on the moon]

Such a wondrous journey to read your words and follow you along the city streets, vivid and dark... Brilliantly woven into the perfect blanket, covering the world with colorful patched cloth.

[Sarah A. Nelson]

Wow. Honestly I wish I could be as whimsical as Raining was because this poem deserves all that and more, but considering it's 4:35AM and I'm a little bit tipsy, nothing comes to mind. I don't read poetry, or write it, and I read this strictly because the title grabbed me, but this poem is so strong. And I feel like I understand every bit of it personally.

With your permission I might print it out and carry it with me.

[East of Eden]

I love it. It's beautifully original. I laughed at the crying geese stanza. It turns everyday city life into something fascinating and adventurous I really feel the personality behind it. The only constructive criticism I have is that 'incompetent' is mis-spelt. What a wonderfully slanted world.

[Laura Nikkinen]

I like a story or a poem, when it gives me vivid images with a first read, this was one of them, I like your wording, the pauses, sense of... not drama, but more like a sense of highlighting a point. And thank you for your comment, I'm anxious to finish that chapter, but I don't wanna just fart it out quickly so I figured I'm gonna make some coffee and play some ball with my jackie russell, she's been waiting for me the whole day, got tired and crashed on the bed.

[~angelalala~]

wow i really love this poem. its dark & paranoid. there is some great imagery here. i especially loved the last stanza, about how the monsters whisper beautiful things. great write. going in my favorites.

[Solitary Existence]

I love this. Especially the end: "I wonder if hey're really monsters at all". But the whole poem was great, I love it. Your poetry feels so natural and flows so smoothly.

[Bennett Logan]

I really like this! You paint a very clear picture and then leave the reader to make sense of it all. The geese, the dinosaurs, the fossils, and twitchy, abnormal people really come to life. I would maybe do something a little different with the last stanza, though I don't know exactly what. I may just read it again later to see if anything comes mind. Otherwise, this is really good stuff -- one of the best poems I've read on Writers' Cafe in quite a while. Definitely keep up the good work!

Bennett

[Sound]

Very nice flow to it, and the imagery was fantastic. Made me want to hug the building walls as I traveled Downtown. At the same time the city life is something that doesn't seem you'd want to give up. Great work.