Saturday, March 29, 2008
Things that Give a Queasy Feeling
meatloaf
ants on the shoulders of coats
men walking closely behind me
the wet spot
tangled hair on strangers
cherubim on postcards
women laughing as I enter the room
the smell of
public bathrooms
videos of white children at parties
waking up with a dry mouth
bumping into pregnant women
climbing four flights of stairs in a narrow stairwell
algae stuck between my toes when swimming in a lake
frozen strawberry drinks
the taste of vodka on someone else’s tongue
accidentally squashing a roach as I slip on my shoe
the smell of the monkey house at the zoo
the color yellow
a sink full of wet silverware
a pile of old mattresses on the curb
day old sushi
the crash of one car hitting another
too many antihistamines
the sound of
a bottle breaking outside my window
sucking someone's fingers and getting a distinct and salty taste
the sound of my cat retching
a nurse
missing my vein twice
a CD stuck on the same three notes, over and over again
an old woman smiling with gummy teeth
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6 comments:
I enjoyed the images and how they flowed. I think the poem is more profound than the title. I think a new title could really make the poem hit harder.
I have never given much thought to list poems, but this one makes me think I should. So descriptive, visual, olfactory (?) I can smell the bathroom, the monkey house, even the mattresses. Would it be ok if I tried this on my blog--I'll say the idea came from you.
Will you now use any of the images from this poem for another poem?
Hi Chris and Jilly --
The idea for the title and poem are not actually my own. It was an exercise we did in Todd Colby's poetry class, based on a series of poems by a female writer of the pillow book (written sometime in China about 4 centuries ago.) She has a whole bunch of list poems just about things that caused her to feel certain things.
In some journal buried somewhere in my mess, I have notes from a book that uses the pillow book as its main theme. It was fiction by a young Japanese writer...out in 2001...anyway, I wrote down some of her list ideas. Thanks for reminding me.
Kimiko Hahn uses this, too, in her most recent book, Narrow Road to the Interior.
I know I commented on your first poem about this, but I can recognize excellent poetry when all your senses are totally immersed in the words. Seriously, when I read your poetry I am captivated. Every part of me is sunk into your words. Beautiful, absolutely beautiful.
I enjoy all images. I like the image of the coin in the fountain that is actually a wrapper from a peppermint pattie folded to look like a coin. Thanks for that trick you played on me at the fountain.
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