image of Samuel Greenberg
Emulation
“A writer is just a reader moved to emulation.”
--Saul Bellow
Lost in concrete crags and steel canyons, where
banana peels pile up in corners, and where
blondes are bimboing
honey decomposes
canaries die too soon
mustard loves to stain
butterscotch burrows deeply
lemons linger and languish
all fool’s golden akimbo
midst Jewish yellow dreams.
Some of us gather astride mean sodden streets,
loving, honorable, peaceful, and respectful, before
the jack boots
the red angry eyes
the constabulary’s snarl
the ivory riot helmets,
the stout hickory nightclubs
the tear gas and fire hoses
the rubber bullets and bang bombs
all predispositioned thuggees
all absolute lucid farrows.
Where does Truth live, dwell, exist? It has become a
pitiful shadow creature. So
I will embark
on a pellucid quest,
seeking purity
and clarity
and logic
and honesty
and dignity
mantling the endangered
species of democracy.
Can we find the future while peering backward at
the sacred skeletons of history? Like
skulls of saints
scapulas of senators
humerus of home boys
pelvis from postmen
femurs from farmers
sternums from sinners
vertebra from viceroys
ribs from ruffians
tibia from torch-bearers
and sternum from sooth-sayers?
Depression germinates in more than fifty shades of gray,
trembling lips, grinding molars, and clenched fists;
a total grey life
lava covered craniums
that melds copper & tin
into putrid pewter hues,
while Holocaust ashes
are spread on icy cobblestones
oxidized iron spikes adjacent
to all those bleached shark bones
mostly rhino-rough
and completely lost
in charcoal smudges.
Glenn Buttkus
in the style of Samuel Greenberg
and his The Pale Impromptu.
posted over at d'Verse Poet's Pub
18 comments:
I love how your poetry pours out, each lava flow distinct but part of a unified theme. Hella good, Glenn! I like the sacred bones stanza best I think.
This poem deserves a standing ovation!!💝 Such superb emulation of Greenberg's style which I think I prefer more than the original! Beautifully done, Glenn!
This is quite brilliant brother. A real homage, and I love the concrete form as it cascades down. Herculean feat Glenn!
How you took on Greenberg's style, I'll never know. That is such a challenge! You wrote this beautifully, darkly, and brilliantly, Glenn. I'm reduced to a monosyllabic praise of WOW.
This is stunning. I will come back to this piece for many more reads.
powerful writing Glenn!
you "got" his style, added your own charms and told it like it is!
That second last stanza is mighty, the entire poem is monumental ... this should be published elsewhere, please share it on
This is one hell of a poem! Packed with emotion, truth fear and hope. This part really stands out for me in these times of unrest. You really are a master of words!
Where does Truth live, dwell, exist?
Powerful write, Glenn...you outdid Greenberg himself! Your poem is a cry for truth, a search for meaning, a call for peace.
It's a great form isn't it Glenn. The cascade of meaning on top of meaning, elaborating and undermining repeating and repeating. Enjoyed this read - particularly the skeletons in the second last. I imagine Greenberg would approve.
You hit a grand slam on this one Glenn. Such great imagery pouring your heart out in anguish and agony. I loved the images in the looking back at history on the skulls of saints...
Great work!
Your Greenberg emulation is like a waterfall of words, Glenn, gushing down my screen and ebbing between the absurd, the terrifying and the sublime.
This is a true homage to Greenberg - I like that you included a photo. Were you already familiar with his work? You emulate it so well in recreating what might have been his world!
A wonderful, free flowing, stream of consciousness creation. I enjoyed the ride.
a densely packed flow from the font of Greenberg to your stream of consciousness. Every verse a poem in its own right - must be read again and again to be fully appreciated. Thank you for taking the prompt to such great heights
You've written your own Greenberg. Well done, Glenn.
I feel that you invited Greenberg to meet with Ginsburg and yourself consider the confusing world of today... quite a few wonderful new charms in your poem
Chilling and true.
I tried 4 times to put a comment in using my laptop. For whatever reason google was not “recognizing” my device and would not let me put in a comment. I literally tried to find the solution to the problem for an hour!!! Grrr So this morning will try on my iPhone. Dedicated to you, Glenn!
What I said 4 other times is that this, in my opinion, is one of your very best! You’ve echoed Greenberg’s style visually, with “charms” and in a surreal way. I love that each indented section has a different tone and feel to it.
The poem itself is powerful. So very well done!
Fingers crossed this will post!
HURRAH!!!! My comment published!!! WHY won’t it on my laptop?????
Post a Comment