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

6 comments:

Unknown said...

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.

jillypoet said...

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?

Christine E. Hamm, Poet Professor Painter said...

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.

jillypoet said...

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.

Michaela said...

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.

Unknown said...

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.