Thursday, June 6, 2013

Verses Gratuit



art by R. Hautmann--1920


Verses Gratuit

“A chorus of typewriters sing songs that praise
bananas for their wisdom & leadership.”
---Jarod Kintz

Cola, after fifty years, will taste
purely petrichor.

Frozen rocking chairs, living outside,
sprout bucolic blossoms.

Gills on a metal workhorse belch
dulcet diesel smoke.

The Armory wore its necktie,
meraki-tied as a dendroid.

Signs of NO, posted by absent bullies,
conjure swollen knuckles.

First comes erodent abandonment,
and the your “E” hangs asunder.

A truck of camo-war parked in a yard
of peace creates ludicrous imbroglio.

The little Alamo, sporting plywood arch patches,
had not seen a Mexican in a 100 years.

Alas a photonic anomaly, one building inside
another, floating freely on glass.

Surrounded by grumpy geometry, we need
to become much more calculating.

The barely red curbs seemed inseparable,
but even that was illusory. 

Post-patina, unwatched threshers, become
indistinguishable from prairie carpet. 

Does your pathway actually beckon,
or does it bark?

Golden waxed Terraplanes stop
for cold beers in Kapowsin.

A bungalow by the sea, with bananas
in back, pulled up its skirts.

Pieces of Atlantis, faces of Herculaneum,
rise up one arch at a time.

Mosaic portals create a dour smile
on the gray sprawl. 

Damned cathedrals, regardless of faith,
bend us to our knees.

Thwarted busy fists, windmilling wildly,
are saddened by shadows. 


Glenn Buttkus

Posted over on dVerse Poets FFA

Would you like the author to read this Dadaist poem to you?

18 comments:

Mary said...

My pathway barks rather than beckons...or perhaps if I am honest it barks as it beckons. Ya, those damned cathedrals anyway...it gets harder and harder to bend to one's knees, especially when windmilling. Smiles!!

Claudia said...

smiles...the cathedrals often bend me to their knees because of their beauty...find it so fascinating...just yesterday visited the basel münster again and when you think it was build between 1000 and 1500, it just takes my breath away again and again...smiles

Claudia said...

ha..i meant my knees of course...confused...ha..smiles

Brian Miller said...

haha i like...each couplet is like a little koan of ice cream headaches waiting for you to press the tongue to the top of your mouth.... First comes erodent abandonment,
and the your “E” hangs asunder....most def....hanging my E...cool write sir...

hyperCRYPTICal said...

Lovely little couplets - particularly like

A bungalow by the sea, with bananas
in back, pulled up its skirts.

Lovely, lovely!

Anna :o]

Scarlet said...

I like the random verses Glenn, I see this process really working for you very well ~ My favorite part is grumpy geometry and asking if the pathway actually beckon or does it bark ~

Unknown said...

I think you verge on Creating dada epic. This has great flashes of surreal intensity. It creates a surreal landscape alien to consciousness. May I ask what text and method you used to do this?

brudberg said...

Love what you have created here.. This is dada perfection.. very interesting result..

Glenn Buttkus said...

Chaz, I used several word lists I had compiled from books & magazines, and then some random notes I had made about some of my own photographic images from years ago.

Unknown said...

Exciting and full of bizarre twists. Very satisfying; I agree with Charles.

henna ink said...

Oh my, I love this ... really, really love this part:

"Surrounded by grumpy geometry, we need
to become much more calculating.

The barely red curbs seemed inseparable,
but even that was illusory."

Fantastic.

kelvin s.m. said...

..oh, well i wish i can be as deep as your words to dig your world... smiles...

Marina Sofia said...

Loved the grumpy geometry and the skirts uplifted on the bananas - very Dadaist indeed, caused much laughter!

Dave King said...

Oh, some beauties here! I think my favourite is:
A bungalow by the sea, with bananas
in back, pulled up its skirts.

Anonymous said...

So many creative lines to this one...Where did you get all these gorgeous words from...well done Glenn

Anonymous said...

Woah mama! What Dada! This is seriously finely-tuned, amazingly-crafted, smooth-as-wheat-beer Dadaist poetry of the highest caliber. Poignant, excellent surrealist imagery, every single couplet stands out. Wow. Glenn- this raises the bar, and in turn, I raise a glass. -Mike

Truedessa said...

Wow, that was an intense piece of work..these words left a deep image..

The barely red curbs seemed inseparable,
but even that was illusory.

Unknown said...

that was really cool allen ginsberg would be proud