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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

Comments

  1. i loved this......

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

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  2. a mackerel sky messenger
    on yang tiger back

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

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

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  4. 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...

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  5. nope.
    sieve is the correct word. :)

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  6. EXCELLENT!!! My favorite stanza:

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

    A+

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

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

    Shamaness, perhaps?

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  9. "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

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  10. An inspired interpretation of the prompt. Thank you.

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  11. I could do with bags of courage...

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  12. 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!

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

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  14. a mackerel sky messenger
    on yang tiger back

    Great!

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

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  16. 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.

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

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

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

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

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  21. 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.

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  22. nice i remember this one...

    whats up with all those links below?

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  23. 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.

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

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