Marionettes
September 1, 2010by Sergio A. Ortiz and Arunansu Banerjee
The drunken clock is broken
hour crowds; room shrinks
on top of its universal ashes,
a wide eyed magpie at the window
grumbles: “light harms me
and close the window.”
String marionettes hang on the wall
staring at each other. They’ve been sagging
that way ever since my father brought them home.
Rush hour traffic jostles outside,
the magpie keeps complaining,
crowds swell, room shrinks further.
I hear the sound of a sugarcane
juice-machine,
fibrous woody grass getting pressed
squeezed and crushed,
it refuses to be thrown away
like used-up paper.
A stray dog timidly walks away
with a piece of husk.
I gaze at a distant high-rise, feel
my pulse and know
I need a heart because
I’ve lost my virginity lost it to you
my “half crucified”
fully naked god. You nail me
to a hymn about
a rainbow yet won’t give up
an ounce of your pride
to write me an apology.
Yes, it is I
who needs to find
the pieces of an inflorescence
strewn on the ground;
I who bears the burden
of hunting exotic magpies.
I who needs to see
that they make clusters
of individual you’s
without the fear of losing.
Sergio A. Ortiz
Ortiz is a retired educator, poet, and photographer. He has a B.A. in English literature, and a M.A. in philosophy. Flutter Press released his debut chapbook, At the Tail End of Dusk, October 2009. Ronin Press released his second chapbook, topography of a desire, May 2010. Avantacular Press released his first photographic chapbook: The Sugarcane Harvest, May 2010. His third chapbook: Wet Stones and Bedbugs in My Mattress, will be released by Flutter Press, November 2010. He was recently published, or is forthcoming in: Carcinogenic Poetry, Perceptions Magazine of the Arts 2010, BorderSenses, Offcourse Literary Journal, Cavalier Literary Couture, and Touch: The Journal of Healing.
Arunansu Banerjee
Arunansu Banerjee, from Kolkotta, West Bengal, India, has been writing poetry only a few years but the art and craft were rooted in him long before his work appeared on web forums such as The Peregrine Muse, Here & Now and Soul to Soul. Arunsansu is a teacher by profession, with a degree in physics and a specialty in softwares. His primary love is listening to Indian Classical music. Favorite poets include Emily Dickinson, John Keats, Rabindranath Tagore, Li Po, Mary Oliver, Pablo Neruda and Matsuo Basho.
We welcome your comments at letters@friedeye.com