Thursday, May 5, 2016

After the Before


image from mark-chadwick.deviantart.com


After the Before

“In dreams the truth is learned that all good works are
done in the absence of a caress.”--Leonard Cohen

I
am a whirlpool of inexorable want;
always have been, but I find it’s your
companionship, over there in your black underwear,
getting ready for work, mother of emotion that rolled
over intellect, keeping the unwelcome blues down
to a minimum, giving me someone to believe in,
who habitually whets my appetites & diffuses a
a bevy of difficulties, before you kiss me as you hurry
out the back door, off to your job, while I’m still
in sleeping sweats, & joyous to be just hanging
out in the comfort of our crib with my imagination on
fire, readying to write poetry, always just one
word, one image at a time, tapping my left foot

to the music of the heart, tending the blaze and
letting luscious language pour from my pen, with nothing
to block the vociferous volition, the clever comments on
the state of the planet, the day, or possibly my
conflicted views on politics--allowing the stewart of my mind
free reign, total freedom, & no restrictions--doing so but
fully aware of its terms of misnomer; yet it is something to
spur the creative juices, to prime the engine, to be
fuel for fantasies, foibles, shiny cortical filaments inside
my brazen beltway of bizarre ideas--needing to liberate the
flying bovines, the howling harpies and the only
extant red unicorn left in my psyche, kept in a place
where plague rats can’t intrude, a lovely space that
multiple muses can gather in for tea, a sanctuary that has
plentiful views, wide exits, comfortable chairs and no
bully guards posted at the doors, forever safe inside
that placid anteroom, a place of velvet curtains and
colorful Persian rugs, where intrusive poetic forms have no
jurisdiction, & must remain politely outside. 


Glenn Buttkus

Welcome to the Golden Shovel poetic form. My end words came from lines within
Disturbed this Morning by Leonard Cohen.

Posted over at dVerse Poets Pub MTB


15 comments:

brudberg said...

I love the flow that streams from that sanctuary of yours. I might knock on the door with a form or two, but I do like what flows from you. Splendid.

De Jackson said...

Glenn, I love the Golden Shovel for so many reasons...never more so than when the original poem's line acts as a sleek and sexy backbone for the poet to cover in gorgeous phrase skin. You have done that here, and beautifully.

Gayle Walters Rose said...

What passion flowed by your chosen inspiring lines, Glenn. If you had difficulty, it is not apparent here. This totally captivated me! The execution of your thoughts is always superb.

Mary said...

You have done Leonard Cohen well. So many good lines make for a rewarding read. I like especially "I am a whirlpool of inexorable wants" and "brazen beltway of bizarre ideas." You never do things simply, Glenn. I know your effort here took a lot of time to compose.

Victoria said...

Why am I not surprised that you (and Bjorn) had the courage to write such a long poem. I agree with Gayle, it flows seamlessly, apparently painlessly. Nice choice of lines, as well.

Sanaa Rizvi said...

Oh I agree with Victoria, kudos to you for writing a lengthy poem! :D

Walter J. Wojtanik said...

I love the genius of Cohen. And you have served him well in this Glenn. Very cerebral.

AnotherFearlessYear.net said...

I am so jealous that you get to hang in your crib and write poetry. I have to go to work every day and really only get Saturday and my lunch time or a stolen few minutes to write. I would love to have more time dedicated just to writing. Sigh. Maybe when I retire. Anyway, love the poem. ;)

Anonymous said...

Your crib sounds terrific...no wonder your work sings.

Anonymous said...

those sneaky forms just wiggle their way into your crib. cool!

Kim M. Russell said...

Great choice of poet and poem, Glenn. I've loved Cohen since I was a teenager. I also love that unique Glenn twist. Such a long poem requires creative stamina!

lillianthehomepoet.wordpress.com said...

Well if this is having trouble or problems etc with a form, amen to that! As always, your words flow and carry me right with them! I always feel as if I'm peeking into your soul when I read your words.

PattiKen said...

I like the stream-of-consciousness of this. You present thoughts just the way they occuur. And I love the title and this line: "...liberate the flying bovines, the howling harpies and the only extant red unicorn left in my psyche." Wonderful!

purplepeninportland.com said...

A passionate beauty of a poem, Glenn!

PSC said...

LOL Love the ending! OK, I love the whole thing -- especially how the internal dialog and external images intertwine so beautifully. But, those last lines really did make me laugh out loud. This was a hard form (in my opinion anyway) but this flows effortlessly. Beautiful.