painting by Jean Soyer
Raw Naked Red
“Red lips are not so red as the stained stones
kissed by the English dead.”--Wilfred Owen.
Red
moves me,
dominates me,
stimulates and surrounds me
as a blush, a slap, a blow,
as lipstick on my collar,
as bloodshot eyes at 3 a.m.,
as a dirty glass of merlot,
as a Z, wagging the alphabet,
as the tip of the spear stabbing Christ,
as love apples on the vine,
as Cupid’s darts in my butt,
as Selleck’s borrowed Ferrari,
as hunger stimulated by decor,
as that sexy sequined dress,
as a mouthful of rubies,
as a paper cup of burgundy,
as the candied cherry on top,
as bruised knuckles bashing brick walls
as the sweetest apple of my eye
as the jam on my bagel,
as the oxygenated blood in my veins,
as the tight petals in a fresh bouquet of roses,
as raspberry rays setting on glacier snow,
as chili pepper on my eggs
as my excitement before my birthday,
as my muscles while pumping iron,
as my passion embracing my spouse,
as courage while standing alone,
as my sister’s Persian rug,
as the mahogany wax sheen on my roll top desk,
as the slab of silver salmon on a spit.
as the firetruck dispensing EMT’s
as Chinese and Russian Communism,
as my aching desire to live until I’m 90,
as the candy apples busily bobbing,
as the majestic Sequoia,
as Indian Paintbrush wild flowers,
as caution when I brake,
as stomach growls after smelling meat frying, and
as urgency when my colon is combative.
Glenn Buttkus
Sinesthesia
Posted over at d'Verse Poet's Pub
14 comments:
I think you have painted every possible aspect of red here and I really enjoyed the images you painted: the final one was a hoot!
Glenn, I love your lust for life, which is every shade of red. I would love to hear you read this one.
All the shades of red Glenn. There is something about that raw naked read that is powerful.
Great work brother. So many killer images, rich, ripe, delicious to read. I am struggling getting this prompt to click for me — but you slayed it Glenn!
Soooo......Red, then?
Hahahahaha!!!
Mind-blowing flow here Glenn. My hat is off.
(I did red too)
My goodness this is good!💝 The poem is like a rich tapestry of images that are interconnected with a purpose to beguile. Especially love; "as the oxygenated blood in my veins, as the tight petals in a fresh bouquet of roses, as raspberry rays setting on glacier snow, as chili pepper on my eggs, as my excitement before my birthday."💝
Ah, you’ve gone with raw naked red, Glenn, and not just a splash! I enjoyed all the different kinds of red, especially ‘lipstick on my collar’, ‘a dirty glass of merlot’ and ‘raspberry rays setting on glacier snow’. I see you and Ron both went for bouquets of roses – both romantic guys.
Oh, wow. I love this and all the reds. I appreciate the detail of the burgundy being in a paper cup, (which will be stained red).
I love your world of red, Glenn! Red rules for sure! So much of our life is wrapped around red. It moves us like no other color as your so wonderfully expressed!
Every aspect of red you have covered in all possible sense both with memory and experience, as you have so eloquently written Glenn. I enjoyed these lines the most:
"as the candy apples busily bobbing,
as the majestic Sequoia,
as Indian Paintbrush wild flowers,
as caution when I brake,
as stomach growls after smelling meat frying, and
as urgency when my colon is combative."
You have a way with story-telling in your poetry, and imagination, I think, is one of the hardest aspects to cover in poetry and in different types of prose as well. You have imagination laced throughout every word and verse as you delineate all possibilities of what red covers in your life. I admire your writing, creativity, and above all, your spirit in your writing. Amazing work.
This has the intensity of fire.
This poem is insanely red and crazy good.
WOW, Glenn! There's so much to love here, from the killer shape and movement of it to every vivid image within. Well done.
I love the whole list... like a spectrum of only that single. Especially the contradictions that occur... both the slap and the love.
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