Saturday, February 5, 2011

Meatshop Lane

A sudden swish,
A writhing spurt,
And then  the wrenching of the wings.
(Could you change the channel now?)

I've stood with crumpled notes and seen
The daily act of muscles taut
That hack and pull and tear and crush
To suit the choices we dictate
And serve ourselves the dish we please.

No one minds the splattered stains
And rests in peace with newly bought
Powders that would rub them out.
(Could you switch the AC on?)

I am stunned by these images
That sting
And sharpen their fangs
To gobble my world
Which sinks it seems
In rivers of blood.

Weep my beloved and watch
The streets now swarm with daggers and guns
And rend our skies with unremitting flames.
(The pizza boy is here love!)

16 comments:

Robert said...

Poignant.Piercing.Perfect.
The bracketed lines in the poem can be read as probable voices of three people:either the speaker himself in real life,or his lover -- who is not as sensitive as the speaker who dreams of a 'beloved',or it could be any 'commoner' who dont think beyond regular comforts.Were you thinking thus or something else?
This poem is differently good.

Abin Chakraborty said...

Yes. Something along those lines. I would not even mind if someone chose to interpret the bracketed lines as the comments of the speaker's own fractured selves.Basically, I am tired of public apathy of which I might be a part as well. The poem and such other ones are my attempts to remain morally alive.

Robert said...

I had commented on 11.02.2011 which forms a mirror image,as in 1102-2011 side by side.Another less funny thing is the time we had commented on. 02.12pm rearranged as 1022 and your time can be rearranged as 1033.Doesnt mean anything.Just a bit of numerical fun.

Anonymous said...

We do take much for granted...like our ability to take things for granted. Cutting in with the parenthetical was funny and effective.

Thanks for sharing!

Scarlet said...

I like the reflections full of despair and sting, weaving in with the mundane of everyday life.

Great to see you Abin ~

Amrit Sinha said...

Quite an intense and deep narration !!!

Sherry Blue Sky said...

YES! I especially love your comment about remaining morally alive. Way to be, Abin!!!!!!!!!!!!! I love this fractured conversation, it is how our minds work, as we ingest impossible images on the tv screen, for example, then the pizza boy arrives! Modern life. Yikes.

HaikuWater said...

Dystopian ideals always end in pizza crusts and an oil-stained takeaway box.

Gemma Wiseman said...

I imagined voices from TV news breaking in unnannounced to the domestic fabric! Only some voices register, but the voice announcing pizza has extra connection! Overall, there is a feeling that "things" happen, but they remain "things" - without personal meaning! A fascinating poem!

Jennifer Wagner said...

Rich irony Abin...great poem.

Kerry O'Connor said...

Sometimes we are subjected to the most awful images in our own homes, on computer or TV, and it seems all just part of the scenery, between conversation and pizza delivery. You have struck the nail on the head here.

Mary B. Mansfield said...

I think those bracketed lines are a perfect reflection of the disjointed thinking so many of us have in the age of information overload. The fourth stanza has a sting all of its own, such a vivid image there! Really enjoyed this poem.

flipside records said...

This is excellent. Your parentheticals are extremely effective.

Sreeja said...

Woww lot of truths, irony and a great poem...

Mystic_Mom said...

This is amazing. The powerful images and the asides in brackets, like we have to see the things we do, and yet we have to maintain a veneer of normalcy for those who can't or won't look.

Anonymous said...

Ah, good stuff, assaulted and cajoled, my senses all over the place!