Tuesday, October 20, 2020

Emulation



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:

JadeLi said...

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.

Sanaa Rizvi said...

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!

robkistner said...

This is quite brilliant brother. A real homage, and I love the concrete form as it cascades down. Herculean feat Glenn!

Lucy said...

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.

calmkate said...

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

Truedessa said...

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?

lynn__ said...

Powerful write, Glenn...you outdid Greenberg himself! Your poem is a cry for truth, a search for meaning, a call for peace.

peterfrankiswrites.wordpress.com said...

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.

Dwight L. Roth said...

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!

Kim M. Russell said...

Your Greenberg emulation is like a waterfall of words, Glenn, gushing down my screen and ebbing between the absurd, the terrifying and the sublime.

Ingrid said...

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!

Francis Barker said...

A wonderful, free flowing, stream of consciousness creation. I enjoyed the ride.

Laura Bloomsbury said...

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

Ken Gierke said...

You've written your own Greenberg. Well done, Glenn.

brudberg said...

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

Kerfe said...

Chilling and true.

lillianthehomepoet.wordpress.com said...

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!

lillianthehomepoet.wordpress.com said...

HURRAH!!!! My comment published!!! WHY won’t it on my laptop?????