Monthly Archives: June 2010
mannequin
Late at night
when no one else was around
Margaret would stand in the display window
and fulfill her secret fantasy
of being a mannequin.
– matt at shadow of iris
mannequin
the monster
At night, when little Rebecca
would pick up the toy phone
she would insist that a monster
was on the other end.
Her mother hid the phone
thinking this would solve the problem
but it only made it worse
for ever after
Rebecca was certain
it was the monster that had taken it
and that he must be near.
– matt at shadow of iris
the monster
she was so beautiful
She was so beautiful
in that old dress
with its magnificent floral patterns,
who else would have dared
to wear such a thing
but she wore her grandmother’s dress
without any shame at all
in fact
with a subtle smile
knowing her grandmother would be proud.
I spent all of ten minutes
surreptitiously studying
and admiring her poise
via a reflection on a flower vase
and it was only after I got careless
that she finally caught me.
I wanted to say
sue me, I’m in love
instead
I only smiled.
– matt at shadow of iris
she was so beautiful
beautiful flowers
Beautiful flowers
vibrant colors
a spring explosion
a calling to the heart
a vision
of what it’s all about.
- matt at shadow of iris
beautiful flowers
the earphones
She would take those earphones everywhere
and this was when they were still quite new
in the village
and not everyone understood exactly
what they were for.
Her father had given them to her
when she’d visited him in the city
along with a small cassette player
which she kept continuously strapped to her belt
and only removed
when it was time to wash
or to sleep.
She had only one cassette
to put into the player
some pop band
that sang only saccharine
and simple melodies
each one barely distinguishable
from the other.
Yet even when the batteries
ran down
and the war began
she’d still keep the earphones
over her ears
and the player strapped to her belt;
when she was nervous or scared
she would reach up
and touch the earphones
and think of her father.
When she was much older
she would tell everyone
that that was how she had made it
through the war.
– matt at shadow of iris
the-earphones
the smoker
He wasn’t supposed to be smoking
and if his wife saw him
she’d have had a fit.
But with the cherry blossoms in bloom
and the little petals filling the breeze
in just the right way
he couldn’t resist.
Wondering over to the smoking area
he bummed a smoke from some stranger
who glanced at him knowingly
and even smiled sheepishly
before giving him a cigarette.
The first draw on it
was immensely satisfying
and why shouldn’t it be
but as he began to exhale
it was at that moment
he saw her.
– matt at shadow of iris
the smoker
skeletons iv
I’m stopped by the police
when they step out of their patrol car
I am surprised to find out
that they are skeletons
they handcuff me and push me down
my face biting cold wet grass
then they leave me there and drive off;
skeleton cops don’t care nothing for you
if you’ve got flesh.
– matt at shadow of iris
skeletons 4
falling
It is only balance
and grace
that gets us
from one day
to the next;
a wavering bridge
a delicate tension
that you take for granted
until the time comes
when it’s not there
and you begin
to fall.
– matt at shadow of iris
falling
[Inspired by the art of Oscar Chichoni.]
the bong
It had been days
since he’d died in the traffic accident
before his parents had finally
gone to his apartment
to clean his things out
the most surprising thing
they had come across
was a large bong
shaped like an elongated test tube
with a pipe sticking out at the bottom
his mother had gasped for air but not fast enough
as her husband had had to catch her;
later after it was all explained to her
she was relieved to find out
that it was not, in fact,
a sex toy.
– matt at shadow of iris
the bong
[Inspired by the art of Coro.]
another day
He hated his job
he hated the wet city streets
and the crowded bus
full of sweat and bad breath
but when he returned home each day
and saw his wife there
holding their small child
it had an effect on him stronger
than any potent drug could have ever had
a feeling of warmth
starting in his heart
that he could eventually feel
from his toes
to the tips of his ear lobes;
and as she’d reach out and touch him
gently on the arm, with a smile
he’d melt
and know at once
he could take another day.
– matt at shadow of iris
another day
[Inspired by the work of Gustav Klimt.]
