Thursday, July 17, 2014

Yes, Alice, Poets Do Have Balls



image borrowed from bing


Yes, Alice, Poets Do Have Balls

“A dress makes no sense unless it inspires men
to want to take it off you.”--Francoise Sagan.

Brian came
           as bad boy Banksy, wearing
                              Ray Ban silver goggles, paint-smeared gloves
           with no fingers, with his mohawk
                                                 moussed straight up, with
                                                 red tips like cock Chanticleer;
he had three 10 foot wide canvasses
                               already painted like the sides of buildings,
& he was busy with his paint cans
                                               creating graffiti art
                                               that had Israeli fighter jets
dueling with Hamas rocket launchers,
                    while Obama & other heads of state
                    stood by wrapped in their country’s flags.

Claudia came as Zenobia,
                    the rebel Queen of Tadmor,
                                    paramour to Simon, the son of Barrabas,
                     tall & tanned, shirtless, & on her arm;
her gilded crown was offset
                                    by a large ruby in her navel, accenting
                                    her tight & toned tummy. She held court
over in a corner in front of her easel,
               where she painted watercolor caricatures
                                    of the guests. 

Bjorn came as hero Gideon Sunback, who
                        invented the modern prototype
for the zipper, wearing
                        a very tall felt top hat &
                        a  very tight red leather jump suit
that was covered with 100 multi-colored zippers, whose
              heads tinkled like fairy tunes
                                    as he pranced around giving
out those delicious Marabou Swedish chocolate bars. 

Glenn came as a Thracian gladiator,
           with a wide leather belt barely encasing his bulk,
his bulging waist trussed but still ample, his hairy
            chest properly salted with age, with leather wrist
                                    straps laced up with cat gut,
carrying a small shield on his left shoulder,
                                       & a short rubber-tipped Roman
gladius on his right hip, working
                  the room, saying to everyone--
                  “Hi, I am Spartacus, how you doin’ ?”

Gay sat on plush red & yellow cushions playing her guitar,
                            warbling Joni Mitchell,
                                          Joan Baez &
                                          Carol King tunes, dressed
like a hippy goddess in a bright tie-dyed khafkan 
                             & a long earthen brown flowing skirt,
with fresh flowers in her hair; with a small crowd
                             of admirers gathered at her bare feet. 

Victoria came as Florence Nightgale, with
             the crimson red cross
                             on her starched white nurse’s cap,
perfectly matching the red of 
                             the short velvet cape she wore;
sitting demurely at a red card table,
signing & giving away copies of
                              WINTER HAS PAST &
                              THE SIN OF HIS FATHER.

Laurie was in a beach outfit, wearing
           a wide brimmed straw hat, with
           a golden ribbon as its hat band,
over-sized pink sunglasses,
                         sequined lip gloss, with
a well-worn Texas A&M tank top
                         over her green bikini top
& the shortest shorts one could imagine; sitting
              on a blue couch
                         hob-knobbing with everyone
                         who strolled by; talking all about
how she was fixin’ to publish a new book real soon.

Shanyn was there too, dressed up like Annie Oakley,
                           carrying her Red Ryder air rifle, feeding
her Shetland Palomino pony,
                            carrots & oats out of a chrome bucket, offering
free rides to everyone’s kids, her own laugh
                so infectious, the place erupted with the delectable
bubbly laughter of dozens of children. 

Yeah, I think everyone made an appearance.
          Joe was there dressed up like Jim Bridger, letting
everyone play with his black powder muzzle-loader.
          Mary had her three canine companions,
                                Violet,
                                 Basil &
                                 Tulip
all on jeweled leashes, & they were wagging their butts
as they kiss-licked all the newcomers at the door.
          Tony was in a kilt, wearing a ten gallon cowboy hat.

                         Man, when would this boisterous reverie
ever end?         It has been going on for three days
now--it will probably last
                         362 more days.
                         That’s the rumor,
& I’m sticking to it. 


Glenn Buttkus




Would you like to hear the author read this poetic lark to you?

29 comments:

Claudia said...

haha...oh my.. you should see me smile....really i LOVE how you captured so many of our poets in your very own imaginative style... very cool glenn...here's to many more years of poetry and save a dance for me please

Brian Miller said...

hahaha....we are quite the characters arent we...lol...so bjorn in tight leather...with zippers snort....i will try not to get spray paint all over the place tonight...but we will be painting the town....

Mary said...

Ha, a very cool write, Glenn. I would like to see that Thracian gladiator. Sounds like a 'maaavelous' costume, and you could surely play the part to the max. This image becomes you. Smiles.

Anonymous said...

That is such a cool write... great imagery of the poets in action in their fancy dresses. And a hello to Spartacus.. :-)
-HA

Gabriella said...

Very cool description of the ball, Glenn! I enjoyed the fancy costumes and the carefree atmosphere.

Myrna R. said...

This is hilarious. Love your desIcriptions. The ball is sure to be a blast.

Victoria said...

It's kinda scary how well you know us, Glenn. This was such a fun read and I think you pretty well nailed it!

Linda said...

What a fantastic crowd! Really like your take on everyone. Thank you! ~~~:D

Anonymous said...

You captured a great group of people in their revelry, Glenn! Besides you had me at, "poets do have balls."

LOL

Scarlet said...

We could go on forever with this party Glenn ~ Happy to see you here at our celebration ~ Rock that gladiator outfit ~

Susan said...

FUN! I could visualize the entire crew. I'm sure this is the story of the night.

Wolfsrosebud said...

great character recognition... you must have had fun with this

Anonymous said...

You're words bring a surrealism to our imagination and minds.

You and I should collaborate. I know I've said this to you before. But we should.

Great poem my friend. :)

author.nara.malone said...

I think you captured all the personalities perfectly. Definitely think this party is gonna roll right on through the year.

ayala said...

This is great fun :) made me smile :)

Beachanny said...

Well Spartacus (I always pictured you as Russell Crowe)and how well you painted me (quite accurate I think), and spot on for Claudia as well - but Bri as Banksy that's really GREAT!!! The party is ON and the wine is flowing - next dance on my card is yours, Signori! (loved the poem...OF COURSE).

Sherry Blue Sky said...

Glenn, this is brilliant and you have captured everyone perfectly....this is a total hoot to read and envision. Love the red tips on Bri's mohawk!

mrs mediocrity said...

Ah, Spartacus... a character for your next movie incarnation.

This is wonderful, and left me with a big smile on my face, I could see each poet, and it was a fabulous view!

Unknown said...

we're just a bunch of characters aye? I could see everyone perfectly; keen eye for detail buddy

RMP said...

if I didn't see it with my own eyes I don't know that I would believe it...but I'd say you portrayed all quite smashingly.

vivinfrance said...

All those wicked verbal caricatures are right on the nail. I sigh for a " tight & toned tummy" like Claudia's!

Sumana Roy said...

love this one... :D :D

Anonymous said...

a joy filled poem of our poets - perfectly captured - wonderful - K

Katie Mia Frederick said...

AHH..SO CREATIVE..imagining the characters in FULL DRESS OF WILD WILD WEST..DRESS!

ALL DRESSED UP AT THE BALL OF THE OK
CORAL BALL..

hmm..i think that has something to do with
an

Ocean reef too!...
Smiles..and enjoy the rest of the Ball..

i haven't had the opportunity to make it out to these parts in a while..;)!

Arathi Harihar said...

perfect Glenn..loved it :)

Jeff said...

Nicely done, Glenn! It's remarkable how much can be learned about another person by reading his or her poetry. Great fun!

Ginny Brannan said...

What fun! Liked the title too, that play on words (or gender) quite apt indeed. With or without, the writing here is always worth drinking in and celebrating! Nice capture here for sure, I like it!

Truedessa said...

This was fun to read and made me laugh a bit at the imagery you created. Very cool..

Kathy Reed said...

Right on, Glenn!! What a production and the costumes are great! We needed you to add your touch to the occasion with your personal flair