VANILLA BOY

09 03 14

Defining me
is spelling out
a hundred-letter word
Essence of existence seized
in a vowel-less commute
through a dreamless sleep
between the suns
of definition and identity
Applications of passivity
become of me then bail
on potential to become me
Nothing here to see
say the signature police
Move along evolving as you were
Vicissitude's aloof
to the morose settlement
cited only in a mime around
the fringes of inclusion's
stunned recess
Outspokenness seduces
in its transparent slip of tongues
Intellectual arousal cowers
under impotence of
aural relevance
Praying to the ghost of
Helen Keller for a shadow
based influence
I resent my senses
on the basis of
their comfort on a fence
Why am I denied
essential evidence?
What nuances seal
the appeal of pretense?
I can lay no claim to tragedy
I'm too preoccupied
with verbal travesties
and inclinations of Van Gogh's spite
towards awarded senses
I'm inclined to take my eyes first
like an inconveniently
enlightened Oedipus
or have them taken from me
by a b*****d boy
keen to my attempts
at nurturing to health
the wrongings of divine right
Gloucestershire sauce
imprints a bitter stain
on my incessant appetite
for gluttonous libations
of assured affirmations

Author's Note

Reviews

[Sophy Freebirds]

I used to just pop in and out of the cafe. But when i came across this title i had it bookmarked.. and steve i am so glad i did so. I really liked the start-hundred lettered word. Ahh yeah! You can't define yourself. Yes i may be abstract. So what! I don't pretend so how come can you like me. The end was just majestic- van gogh's spite,enlightened oedipus, glouchestershire sauce...!! It was just so cleverly written just the way only K.K can write.. :) Great!!

~Sophy

[kublakhan27]

Thanks so much Sophy, I knew you'd know just where I was coming from here ;) I am nothing if not abstract, maybe that's why your work resonates so deeply with me...but having said that, I don't find you 'abstract' per se, your writing is always rich in layers and meanings and messages, and I think that gets confused for abstract a lot...so glad you enjoyed this one my friend, your kind words have made my night as they often do :)

[Pryde Foltz]

We do like to play the woe is me game. All part of the journey, I suppose … the mortal coil does get a little tight at times. Superb write, Steve.

[kublakhan27]

Sadly it's more like a way of life for me than a game...I don't know what else I'd write about if I weren't such a frightened, insecure person...oh well it is my journey I suppose, and these moods tend to produce my best-received stuff so I'll live with it haha Thanks so much Pryde :)

[Pryde Foltz]

If it means anything the energy you give out is rather warm:)

[kublakhan27]

It means a great deal :)

[Sheila Kline]

Ah, a vanilla boy infused with hints of bourbon, bits laced with dreamy orange sherbert swirling in a dish of a "not so ordinary" sundae ingredients -and oh yes, tell me you like it as I need to know as I just might coax you to think you are tasting the bitters of life instead of that sweet familiar taste. But of course, vanilla straight from the bottle, 2xstrength gives quite a zing to the taste buds so it must be mixed with something else to coax those perceptive taste buds to consider it acceptable! You are really quite clever in coining yourself a "Vanilla Boy" because at first thought we do think of all the yummy aspects of vanilla, but take another sampling and we get the full strength version of a writer who puts his heart and soul into his writing! You can be in total sync and rhyme within your verses, and then throw at us phrases like, "nothing here to see say the signature police" when you have signed it with a 100 letter word - I'm curious to know how many "u"s have been used verses the "I"s.........more of the "u"s I would guess!
Another captivating "self portrait" painted on a canvas marked off in a grid of brilliance!

[kublakhan27]

Wow, this is such an amazing review my friend...I wish I had sufficient words to counter it in expressing how much it means to me and how happy it has made me...the beauty of poetry is that it allows you to be someone you're not...I've managed to fool a lot of people with my literary flamboyance...nobody seems to believe that I really am an extremely timid and frightened person with a social anxiety that borders on sociopath...I'm sure you've noticed that there is a running theme in much of my work: a relentless inferiority complex that requires constant nursing...trust me, I am pure vanilla, straight from the bottle with the bitterness that betrays its sweetness when mixed with the right stuff...I am not that interesting, my writing is interesting, I think haha What more can I say, thank you as always Sheila, for the time you take to truly immerse yourself in my words...you understand me like few others do, and that means the world :)

[Ashira Macy]

Vanilla hm? I picture you as a spicier flavor with a bit of a kick at the end. That is how your poetry always reads for me. Bringing out the unexpected exactly at the right moments. I know it is hard and sometimes you just don't feel good about your work, but with so many people telling you otherwise you must know you are doing something really right.

By the way, loved the Oedipus reference, that definitely was an unexpected line, but it worked well and gave a nice solute to classic literature as well.

[kublakhan27]

Haha That's the key my friend...it's how my poetry reads...I am nowhere near as interesting as my writing suggests...that's the beauty of writing, you can become the person you want to be in the flesh...yes, I should be more confident than I am thanks to the unwavering support I've gotten from my friends here, but virtually every poem seems to bring me to the same mindset...I have an inferiority complex that refuses to quit, and no matter how much assurance I get that I do it well, I never feel like I do...anyways I know I'm rambling...sorry, it's been one of those days haha So glad you enjoyed this one Ashira...I like to throw in those little references once in a while when I can pull it off ;) Thanks so much :)

[Ashira Macy]

No worries my friend, I know how you feel. I think a lot of us feel like we are never good enough, no matter what we do. Feel free to ramble to me whenever you want I don't mind at all! And you are right, writing certainly has that allure to it, much as acting does. Becoming someone infinitely interesting, tragic or hilarious even just for one night. Like Halloween in the springtime. =)

[kublakhan27]

Very true my friend, and I extend the same invitation to you :)

[Ashira Macy]

Thank you! I may take you up on that one of these nights. =)

[kublakhan27]

Haha You know where to find me :)

[Rita L. Sev]

I resent my senses
on the basis of
their comfort on a fence...

So many lines leaped out, but this one goes deep... why is it that we become complacent (rather than content) with the mediocre (or perceived to be so). We are, to quote Carl Sagan, "Star-stuff", worthy of tasting all the flavors of Life... Not sure if I am going in the right direction here, Steve, but clearly your words, your anything-but-vanilla poetry, has got my wheels turning!

[kublakhan27]

No you're very much speaking my language Rita...I've been driving myself nuts with that question my whole life, so much so that I've missed out on a lot of 'flavours' in the midst of trying to figure it out...so glad you enjoyed this one my friend, your constant support means the world :)

[Rene Salinas]

In the world of bdsm Vanilla means conventional , the irony right there is bordering on satyrical. I don't think there is much that can me assigned as conventional in this writing or in Kubla personality that radiates through his writings. I have never read so intracately close to geometrical surrealism. No need to even know what that is becuase the proof is on fragments like: A hundred-letter word
Essence of existence seized,in a vowel-less commute. Kubla does that so often it winds the mind up only to let it unwind in the next sentence. Sensorial influences that resent senses. He doesn't even have time to unravel style as he is way more imbued by the travesties of life.

Why is it so intriguing yet so appealing to my senses?

I know! One for all and all for none? A being so complete in its diminished diversity.

Thankyou

[kublakhan27]

It is satirical in a way, almost self-parody...thank you as always for the kind words Rene, they mean more than you know.

[Rene Salinas]

I thank you ! I feel closer to your poetry than you might think

[Blake Fodor]

There is a great deal of emotion in this piece, you wrote it very well. I like it a whole lot.

[kublakhan27]

Thanks so much Blake.

[TL Boehm]

Outspokenness seduces
in its transparent slip of tongues
Intellectual arousal cowers
under impotence of
aural relevance
Praying to the ghost of
Helen Keller for a shadow
based influence
I resent my senses
on the basis of
their comfort on a fence

the little rhymes were not unnoticed. Such skillful wordsmithing in this. I like little poems that are ephemeral but I also like poem that pulls away from shore - taking sand with it as it goes.

[kublakhan27]

Thanks so much for the kind words TL, I'm glad you enjoyed this one.

[Vidya Bacchus]

I feel this way sometimes like my writing is mediocre at best .You mister Steve should never feel this way because you are an exceptional writer :)

[kublakhan27]

We all feel this way sometimes my friend, it is in the DNA of every writer and artist to feel insecure at times, especially when we read others and wish we had their elements in our own voices...but I can assure you sincerely that you need not feel this way either, for you are an exceptional writer as well, and one of my favourites to boot...thank you as always for the support and kind words Vidya, it means the world :)

[Vidya Bacchus]

You are welcome Steve and thank you because your kind words have made me happy.Have a great day my sweet friend :)

[Zahra]

between the suns
of definition and identity
Applications of passivity
become of me then bail
on potential to become me

Really profound. Love your unique writing style. Well penned sir

[kublakhan27]

So glad you enjoyed it Zahra, many thanks for the kind words :)