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The Good Luck Man

Red Umbrella, Christopher Shay
courtesy of Tess Kincaid for Magpie Tales
longans and lichees
herbal remedies

pressed from a heart
worn on my sieve

red umbrella shaman
raising bark, spreading leaves

to send you joy
i bring you cha-li

an august moon passenger
on an auspicious track

a mackerel sky messenger
on yang tiger back

a slayer of evil
mirror in hand

filling red bags with courage
I am the Good Luck man

Rene Foran ~ August 2011

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Comments

  1. Vodka MomAugust 29, 2011 at 8:58 PM

    i loved this......

    it whispered strains of Stephen King in my ear, and made me smile.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Brian MillerAugust 29, 2011 at 10:17 PM

    a mackerel sky messenger
    on yang tiger back

    my fav lines...really strong voice toward the end...

    ReplyDelete
  3. Sharon RoseAugust 29, 2011 at 10:40 PM

    Love this one!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Crystal PistolAugust 29, 2011 at 11:31 PM

    I am the Good Luck man... Love it! Strong and chilling.

    ReplyDelete
  5. JinksyAugust 30, 2011 at 3:00 AM

    pressed from the heart
    i wear on my sieve

    Had to wonder whether you've had an attack of the spellchecker gremlins here - were they looking for 'sleeve'?

    Loved the swing of the last two stanzas...

    ReplyDelete
  6. UnknownAugust 30, 2011 at 6:08 AM

    nope.
    sieve is the correct word. :)

    ReplyDelete
  7. Fragrant LiarAugust 30, 2011 at 9:29 AM

    EXCELLENT!!! My favorite stanza:

    i am a fortunate passenger
    on an auspicious track
    a mackerel sky messenger
    on yang tiger back.

    A+

    ReplyDelete
  8. HelenAugust 30, 2011 at 1:33 PM

    ... I am a lonely and a lonesome traveler ... can't get that song out of my head now!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Theresa MilsteinAugust 30, 2011 at 2:20 PM

    This was great fun!

    ReplyDelete
  10. Irish GumboAugust 30, 2011 at 9:04 PM

    shaman and mackerel sky in the same piece...you have my entranced attention, madam.

    Shamaness, perhaps?

    ReplyDelete
  11. Casey FreelandAugust 31, 2011 at 12:49 AM

    "pressed by the heart I wear on my sieve" - okay, I know when you wrote that you gave yourself the ol' self slug in the arm e.g. Breakfast Club.

    Fantastic.

    Cheers,

    Casey

    ReplyDelete
  12. Lucy WestenraAugust 31, 2011 at 2:18 AM

    An inspired interpretation of the prompt. Thank you.

    ReplyDelete
  13. CadAugust 31, 2011 at 12:14 PM

    I could do with bags of courage...

    ReplyDelete
  14. IntelliblogAugust 31, 2011 at 6:57 PM

    I liked the rhythm and pace of this poem and the wonderful images! I too saw the Chinese characters on the wall and I loved your take using the traditional medicine theme!

    ReplyDelete
  15. Tumblewords:August 31, 2011 at 11:56 PM

    Absolute delight. From a splash of red you've composed an amazing series of images that cause the reader to hold her breath.

    ReplyDelete
  16. TrellissimoSeptember 1, 2011 at 9:12 AM

    a mackerel sky messenger
    on yang tiger back

    Great!

    ReplyDelete
  17. hyperCRYPTICalSeptember 1, 2011 at 11:42 AM

    Love it.

    Anna :o]

    ReplyDelete
  18. Tess KincaidSeptember 1, 2011 at 1:47 PM

    I fill red bags with courage...I like that...kind of a play on red badge of courage...

    ReplyDelete
  19. Glenn ButtkusSeptember 1, 2011 at 9:01 PM

    This piece is a journey, and an adventure
    on a rainbow of light, where we slide
    off on the red edge. Made me smile,
    made me wish for rain and sun breaks
    and a double rainbow over my new deck.
    Loved the lines /red umbrella shaman/raising
    bark, spreading leaves/ for we all need
    to interface with this good luck man.

    ReplyDelete
  20. EvalinnSeptember 3, 2011 at 10:50 AM

    nice rhythm!

    ReplyDelete
  21. LillySeptember 4, 2011 at 5:43 PM

    So great to come by for a visit and see your blog. And your wonderful work - wow more impressive than ever. Loved this Rene!

    ReplyDelete
  22. Vodka MomSeptember 4, 2011 at 7:20 PM

    red rover, red rover, send the good luck man RIGHT OVER.

    ReplyDelete
  23. Elliot MacLeod-MichaelSeptember 5, 2011 at 1:16 AM

    I really liked "mackerel sky messenger."

    ReplyDelete
  24. Ann ImigSeptember 5, 2011 at 3:46 PM

    This is tight. I like it. xo

    ReplyDelete
  25. Laurie KolpSeptember 5, 2011 at 6:53 PM

    I love this!

    ReplyDelete
  26. ClaudiaOctober 23, 2011 at 7:52 AM

    strong...love the filling of red bags with courage...and the mackerel sky messenger...

    ReplyDelete
  27. hedgewitchOctober 23, 2011 at 1:02 PM

    Sparse, yet every word delightfully full of allusion, description and message--of course its seive!
    Enjoyed it Rene. And thanks for stopping by.

    ReplyDelete
  28. FireblossomOctober 23, 2011 at 1:27 PM

    Oh this is so good, and so different, Rene. I especially like:

    a mackerel sky messenger
    on yang tiger back

    But really, I love the entire thing.

    ReplyDelete
  29. Brian MillerOctober 23, 2011 at 4:14 PM

    nice i remember this one...

    whats up with all those links below?

    ReplyDelete
  30. Mark KerstetterOctober 23, 2011 at 4:18 PM

    There's a fantasy element along with the exotic one in this - nice, musical language. I like the play between red sieve, umbrella and bag: withhold, leach or hold, depending on how that good luck is concocted.

    ReplyDelete
  31. tinkwelbornOctober 23, 2011 at 5:04 PM

    I like the sounds of this poem...musicality. and the allusions are rich. the other, the good luck man.
    good persona piece.

    ReplyDelete

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