Wednesday, February 29, 2012

a corruption of influences


i am cluttered like an American home,
from attic to garage, basement to cabinet.
my dogs bark like the neighbors dog
i spread my legs like most wives

still i believe i am a foreigner here.
novels line like white teeth in my mouth.
i am ravenous for the truth however morbid
joyful, mundane. this is not a saying-

these are not just quotes.
music fills my fingertips, i cannot pluck
a note. i am singing about everything,
i am dancing: of course this world's a stage.

at times there is a darkness, bleak. stagnant.
being told to tap dance on steel beams,
which hang from the towers of New York City.
being told to hang my neck like a white goose.

the crust of the Earth is far below,
in lava and springboarding chemical outbursts.
i hold my pelvis, hands shaped in a triangle
keeping the blood at boil.

there are four layered cakes.
layers of atmosphere repleted and regained.
orgasm, rest, orgasm, rest, orgasm, rest.
there are two hundred thread count sheets.

still unknown millions of species unqualified
subsets of niches, two hundred stitches
in the creamy white silk of underwear
nestled against the sweetly stuffed vagina.

there are a hundred ways to be mentally ill,
a hundred kind of grasses in North America.
the phone book keeps hundreds of different
people, all with the same name.

i am rooftop to slate floor a corruption of influences.
life burdens me greatly. i am blessed beyond reason.
the sun rises in the cotton of my daughter's hair,
it sets in the slanted dark eyes of another.


-maggie may ethridge
January Dawn said...

This...."at times there is a darkness, bleak. stagnant.
being told to tap dance on steel beams,
which hang from the towers of New York City.
being told to hang my neck like a white goose."

Maggie - you are brilliant. Your poetry always, ALWAYS resonates in my soul. Thank you.

The Revolution Will Only Happen If We're All Paying Attention said...

I love your voice.

I love your honesty.

I love the raw pieces.

I love your work.

When you publish that book, I want to be the first person in line. :)

Chrissy Johnson said...

This is so damn good. It makes me want to pound my fist on something it's so fucking good. Love!!!

Maggie May said...

January your comment is the kind of comment poets can only dream of. xo

Patience thank you so much. Sometimes it IS hard to put it out there, but words like yours make it easier

Chrissy- possibly the best comment ever? XOXOX

Elizabeth said...

Oy. Another one. Shivery good.

Caroline said...

You know what I like so much about your poetry , Maggie? That I get so lost I'm the visuals I forget I am reading words.
This is perfectly beautiful.

Anonymous said...

i read and reread, i print it, i learn... i love your work!!!!
LOVE!

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