More evidence that I either write depressing or comic, but nothing in between

A poem from Miss's pen


Butcher

I think my neighbour
is training to be a butcher.
I hear him at his work.
He leaves his door open.
I can listen
to systematic slapping of
large soft joints
against hard bloody surfaces.

He yells about his business -
coarse and vulgar words.
He is not the sort to wear protective gloves.
I think he enjoys
the chopping and tenderising.
His hands are stained
and his thick sausage fingers
grab greedily at flesh.

His meat hangs about
in a cold room
looking something like it used to,
but less and less as the days pass.

Comments

  1. Mark Kerstetter28/6/09 10:31

    That really is disturbing. It strikes me that the narrator ought to be on the phone to the authorities.

    Combining light with dark, or the comic with the tragic: that really is the hardest thing to do, isn't it? I usually avoid the comic because I'm very insecure about it. That's why I admire someone with your comic gifts.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Fran Hill28/6/09 10:43

    Thanks, Mark. Have you read Margaret Atwood? Somehow she seems to combine the dark and comic. I'm just reading her book 'Cat's Eye' in which she does this, and I'm really enjoying it.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Lesley28/6/09 14:11

    Fran, I was worried about you because you hadn't posted in a while. Now I'm worryied about you because you *did* post.

    Just kidding - I think you're amazing. I can't do the serious stuff at all. I have to keep it light or nobody could stand to read my blog at all.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Fran Hill28/6/09 14:17

    Lesley, thanks for worrying about me. It's tiring having to do all the worrying about myself just by myself.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Brilliant Sulk28/6/09 19:32

    Fantastic! Very gritty and dark.

    I LOVE gritty and dark. Just like my coffee. Except without the grit and slightly dark. I like a touch of cream. No sugar.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Fran Hill29/6/09 11:25

    Yes, A, I think you could say this poem has no sugar. My daughter has complained that it's come up on my Facebook page. She obviously thinks her mother is now a psychopath or something.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Culture Served Raw1/7/09 01:14

    LOVED it! Intriguing and unsettling

    ReplyDelete
  8. Fran Hill1/7/09 01:59

    Thank you, Valerie. I appreciate your comment.

    ReplyDelete

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