Your house, after the electricity is gone
by Jane Flett
No need for live wires, let's haul
the generator to the living room floor
let it squat and grin with mean metal teeth,
feed it gasoline till it heaves. We have
no tabletops but mirror shards, dark
corners of the room refracting,
your face your face your face
on every surface, turn on
the strobe. Shred the roses he posted,
fling the petals like slideshows of storms.
In the garden, let's paint a warning
B E W A R E O F T H E G H O S T S
spring traps for giraffes and councilmen
—let's tripwire the bins. It is just
six days since the electricity and
the phone is dead, the fridge,
the nectarines are sick swollen cheeks
gone to rot. You prance in arabesque
robes of hijacked curtains, laughing
from the stairs. Your house is the
aching cavity of an old tooth, and
we wait in the hollows for dares.
the generator to the living room floor
let it squat and grin with mean metal teeth,
feed it gasoline till it heaves. We have
no tabletops but mirror shards, dark
corners of the room refracting,
your face your face your face
on every surface, turn on
the strobe. Shred the roses he posted,
fling the petals like slideshows of storms.
In the garden, let's paint a warning
B E W A R E O F T H E G H O S T S
spring traps for giraffes and councilmen
—let's tripwire the bins. It is just
six days since the electricity and
the phone is dead, the fridge,
the nectarines are sick swollen cheeks
gone to rot. You prance in arabesque
robes of hijacked curtains, laughing
from the stairs. Your house is the
aching cavity of an old tooth, and
we wait in the hollows for dares.
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Author's Note
Published October 2014 in the wonderful SAND journal.
Other stories by Jane Flett
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Yeah.
Great flow to this piece, Jane. Favorite moment:
"In the garden, let's paint a warning
B E W A R E O F T H E G H O S T S
spring traps for giraffes and councilmen
—let's tripwire the bins."
Strong way to close - "aching cavity of an old tooth" catches - whether intentional or not - the shadow of Emily Dickinson.
Good writing. *
Traps for councilmen, yes. For Congressmen & Senators, yes. *
Undeniably Jane Flett. Which is a wonderful property.
Undeniably Jane Flett. Which is a wonderful property.
"No need for live wires, let's haul
the generator to the living room floor
let it squat and grin with mean metal teeth,
feed it gasoline till it heaves"
Yes. Reminiscent of my post-hurricane experiences. And thank the goddess for generators! Love this surreal -real piece. *
Yeah! Thanks.
Emily Dickson, post-hurricanes, and Jane Flett are all of my favourite comparisons.
x
"let it squat and grin with mean metal teeth,
feed it gasoline till it heaves." That's what I'm talking about--words that are alive as any animal, and I absolutely love the idea of BEWARE OF GHOSTS! Cool, snarling and beautiful...
Darryl! Thank you xx.
The strobe is definitely on! I love the feeling of being an accomplice in this.
And the nectarines.
"your face your face your face
on every surface" — wonderful.
"let's tripwire the bins."
Yes, let's!
Very good poem.
*
(BTW, your website is awesome!)
I love this.*
Somehow I miss all the comments, thanks y'all!