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miss firecracker

Photo courtesy of Tess Kincaid for Magpie Tales

i remember that july night
my eyes boast
that they saw first
what had sifted down to my heart
and built an altar
to miss firecracker

she was pitching elevator passes
to some sort of suburban
pre-approved heaven
singing the bluesy truth
about the coming glory
Hallelujah

in platform vintage trampling boots
she was a watch fire for the word
which my jubilant feet followed
all the way down
to the mission district
i feared no evil in her aura

sword to her bosom
steel in her eye
her smile was a trumpet call
that peeled the wrath from the grape
she wrote my name on her hand
and pressed it to my lips

"you are the one apart from the 99"

i marched on, side by her side
heart door unlocked and ajar
while feeding apples to the sheep
the truth poured out
she did not want me for her
she wanted me
for Him

her pawn for salvation
a piece of silver for her purse
all i was, was all this was
there was no use hanging around
hailing her taxis full of grace
she told me she would pray for me

i remember that july night
my eyes mourn
that they last saw the glory
that had sifted down to my heart
and built an altar
to miss firecracker

June 2011 ~ Rene

Comments

  1. "she wrote my name in her hand
    and pressed it to my lips"
    but
    "she did not want me for her
    she wanted me for Him"

    ah, whooooosh! that hurts.

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  2. the name on the hand pressed to the lips...delish...oh she loves you but no for herself...ugh...a little water thrown on the altar fire....

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  3. A brilliant bit of distress and disappointment here. So many possibilities, but the reality? Just wrong. Nice write.
    http://www.kimnelsonwrites.com/2011/06/21/beyond-the-portal/

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  4. Aiiieee! Hey, now! Can I get a witness?

    Testimony, sister! This is good.

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  5. Wow, I think this Miss Firecracker was surpressing a bit of her shadow in that kiss of hand....love the complexity of the whole...a delight for a discussion group...bkm

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  6. I enjoyed your poem very much. I especially liked your 'taxis full of grace'

    best wishes, Isabel

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  7. "her smile was a trumpet call
    that peeled the wrath from the grape"

    Great lines throughout, the one above made me smile, great wordplay, allusion, and dynamic poetic writing.

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  8. a fascinatingly charismatic character, intense!

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  9. Strong feeling to it with added complexity, nice piece.

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  10. a trumpet call
    that peeled the wrath from the grape

    Sizzling! :)

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  11. whoooaaa!! Beautifully written!
    I guess love finds us going all blind after all..doesn't it?! :)
    I hope she had true affection hidden under that fiery exterior of hers... *sigh*

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  12. Halleluja!

    I can hear your voice, you know, in your writing...

    Pearl

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  13. Amazing I loved the story it was emotional and very engaging

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  14. Oh, my....this is a (fire) cracker of a write!

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  15. You are a riot of feeling and beauty.

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  16. Pure intensity in true 'Rene' fashion!

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  17. Jean Simmons in "Elmer Gantry" comes to mind here. Excellent write.

    ReplyDelete

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