speak gently
of those tender traps
they that walk like wayward angels
in the poetry of purgatory
there you sit untainted
this is what you think
but at your feet
steps
down or up
up and down
down and up
up and down
and back again
which way do you think?
to steer?
doors closed
like rooms of Bluebeard
shutting out all noise
but, oh the want to fresh openings
like new appointments
the waiting room
for interview
awaits, ‘tis full,
heads hung
speak gently
of those tender traps
they that stand
in front of you
with shiny eyes
like mirrors to reflect
behind they stalk
like memories
sharp knives at your back
like memories,
the better to forget
Candide Diderot. ‘24
Categories:
bluebeard, dark, memory,
Form: Free verse
Fathoms below
Diving slow
Buried treasure to see
Searching for me
Captain Bluebeard had treasure on the ship
A mighty storm caused the ship to dip
Suddenly the ship went down
It was nowhere to be found
Total capsize
Sank to the bottom
Throughout the ocean, there are sharks and all kinds of fish
On my mind was the treasure find being my wish
Through Davey’s Locker
The flashlight being our marker
Ocean floor
Explore
Gold and Silver
Determined in maneuver
Becoming rich
Value and Quality
It’s all about Quantity
Mystery being reality
Ocean deep
Yea ship mates
Fortune to keep
Ever so deep
Categories:
bluebeard, adventure, blessing, boat, courage,
Form: Rhyme
Did you know? Did you see? Did you hear?
Did you think? Did you hope? Did you sneer?
For today is the day
that Bluebeard goes away!
Bid adieu to his mountainous rear!
Categories:
bluebeard, corruption, farewell, humor, humorous,
Form: Limerick
Bluebeard’s promises lure our unwary natures
on to the shaky bridge which we need only cross
to reach that which we dream.
We convince ourselves that if we tread carelessly,
the rotten planks, unnoticed at first glance will hold
long enough to claim our bliss.
We believe the fabricated fictions we’ve been told;
If only we love long enough, desperately enough,
and persevere against all obstacles,
the bear, the frog, the tattered beggar,
will show his true self:
A dragon slayer
A knight of the realm
The prince of our dreams.
Barefoot, in our torn and tattered dress;
The best we have left of our time torn youth
We query the stars in our indecision.
A tentative step at first, changing to a surer gait,
then flying, as a dancer would, across the broken boards
as confidence and hope overtake
the reasoned caution of experience.
Dashing that last few steps….
Under our weight the rotten wood breaks behind us
It leaves no way to return to where we were.
Yet laughing with the exuberance of all possibilities
We stay a step ahead!
Categories:
bluebeard, desire, hope, romance,
Form: Free verse
see this happen
one night, a night
as white as a phosphorus star
left her (and all of us)
blind beggars with holes
in our clinking tin cups
an awful bluebeard
a redblooded villain
was to charcoal blame
said this cautionary tale
that stirred in the fireplace
for one full calendar page
the bellows of heartache
keep pumping stale air
in spite of smiling intentions
the blackbirds of hate
perch in somber authority
on an island unseen
the stars change their orbits
before archaeology sets in
some memories lie in sickbed
then crawl off to the graveyard
the blinding light of yesteryear
awaits rebirth in the clouds overhead
Categories:
bluebeard, dark, emotions, evil, hate,
Form: Dramatic Verse
My man is Bluebeard
On this holiday for two
And I don't want to go
To spend every hour asleep or awake
With him
His voice controlling every action
every movement moment.
I will be caught in the might
of his King Kong grip
Alternately controlling
then beseeching
The needy man child
desperate to be loved
that makes this monstrous He
That must subjugate and control the She
To leave nothing to chance
In this the field of love
To hold and crush in his hot hand
the fragile wilting bloom
Content with that death
for ownership is all.
Categories:
bluebeard, bullying, dark, marriage, metaphor,
Form: Free verse