Yard Sale

 

There’s a spy within me

tapped into suspicions

one eye zeroed in

round the clock

 

There’s a ward

of smuggled wounds

convalescing in my notebooks

smudged so badly

that only I can decipher

their blood

 

I wake early

before family commotion starts

before the endless

mandible chatter

rips apart the silence

 

because my mind is groggy

standing before sunrise

because birds flutter

in such a manner

that my center loses grounding

 

My eyes are sky

pulled from my brain

fog stuffs my head

I’m an old basement

damp and dripping

 

Maybe a yard sale is in order

to rid myself

these shabby feelings

================================

 

 from my 6th book: The Opening

©dah / dahlusion / CTU 2018 all rights reserved

first published in Chicago Record Magazine

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Reviews

[jacob erin-cilberto]

love the metaphors....the old basement damp and dripping...the yard sale idea....
i have need to have a few of those...but i probably couldn't give away 90% of the shabby feelings i have stored in the attic of my mind.
really good poetry here...fresh language and word play.
j.

[DAH]

Thank you, jacob, for this wonderful feedback ...

[John Alexander McFadyen]

Love the allegorical style and the clutter accumulated in order to craft words and fill pages that is now so dense one might need to divest to an extent. Nicely put in a voice burdened by the cumulation and thickening of the cobwebs.

[DAH]

Excellent!

Thank you, John!

[nazia]

WOW... Eloquent. The idea of wiping the slate clean through a proposed yard sale. I don't have that much of experience with life yet but I guess it would be a good idea if something like that could happen with life giving us a chance to start anew..

[DAH]

Thank you, nazia!

[Rye]

I really enjoyed this, wonderful metaphors

[DAH]

Thank you, Rye!

[Davidgeo]

Interesting. This induces a bit of self reflection in a skillfully worded way. Lots of good metaphors.

Unfortunatly, most people's yard sales tend to be nothing but junk and bizare junk.

This was some solid writing. Well done.

There's a weird band called "Mandible Chatter" I stumbled accross on youtube. They were, music.

[DAH]

Everyone's mandible chatters ...

Thank you, David, for getting it.

P.S. just checked out the band, yes, beautifully weird. I'm now a fan. Love their rendition of the 60's
psychedelic song, Psychotic Reaction.

Thank you for leading me to them.

[Chris]

An apt description of an "elder" dealing with life as we live it. I didn't feel you needed a critique just a word of appreciation for the "shared" views and understandings.

[DAH]

I appreciate you visit and your words.

Thank you, Chris!

[Lorry]

We could all benefit from a yard sale of all those things once precious, now marked junk. The trouble with that though, is we can never be as brutal with our personal things and find an excuse to hang on to them, for varying degrees of reason.
I also keep indecipherable notebooks, but forget the reason I managed to convince myself of.
Love the language and overall feeling that your mornings seem more dystopia than mine. Quite a feat 😀

[DAH]

I'm honored by your honesty.

I need a professional code breaker to explain
my notes and drafts to me.

Thank you, Lorry!

[Anne’sRants]

love the comparison of ink and blood. i own my notebooks match that description. also love the last stanza "Maybe a yard sale is in order to rid me of these shabby feelings". making light of a heavy situation

[DAH]

Thank you, Anne

[Dave Brown]

Yard sale is always a good idea
Good to go to but hard to get through
But in your mind?
Could be a lotta traffic
Good luck with it

[DAH]

Thank you, Dave

[Lydia Shutter]

I can identify with the emotions in this poem. I, too, like to get up early before everyone else does just to enjoy the quiet and to be alone with my thoughts. I especially liked this line, "Maybe a yard sale is in order to rid myself these shabby feelings" Excellent expression here! Lydi**

[DAH]

I'm tickled that this one resonates with you, Lydia.

Thank you!
DAH