What I Want
look,
I will tell you tell you like it really is—
I want to see your eyes go round ‘n’ round
in circles of astonishment
I want to hear you shout: O my lord!
O my god! yes! yes! yes! like a woman
in her moment of surrender
and don’t blame me
if I want to fuck up your head
and shake out all
that cotton candy you were fed when you held
your daddy’s hand at that all night carnival
where the brass ring shimmered gold
and the fat lady really sang
and if you never read another poem
I want you to remember
how one, just one, took a gun and blew
out your brains and then, because this poem
is really a decent sort, scrambled about
on its knees, trying to help you put them back
Carpenter Ants
play with me
dodging traps, tiny bodies
scuttling around them
these high tech ants—
even borax sprinkled in powdered sugar
doesn’t fool them
as they march one by one
toward the land of milk and honey
yes, I know they are by far just
a miniscule of my size
even my foot hovering over their heads
doesn’t deter them
as I wait, watch for the Queen
to make her grand appearance
I know when she finally crawls out
from the cracks of her kingdom
her enormity will take
my breath away and I have to give
her due credit—she rules without a king
so I think it is safe to say
the ant colony
is indeed a feminist institution
and to that I must take off my hat
or at least burn my bra
About the author:
A member of Poets & Writers, Inc., I have been published in literary journals including: The Paterson Review (in which my poem won an Editors choice award in the 2005 Ginsberg contest and honorable mention in the 2012 contest), Poet Lore, CQ Quarterly, The Bridge, The Pittsburgh Quarterly, Limestone Circle, Lynx Eye, Xandau and others. I am the 2014 1st prize recipient of the Anna Davidson Rosenberg award sponsored by Poetica Magazine and third prize winner of the Writer’s Digest 2017 poetry contest.
In the artist’s words:
Alex and Christy have always had a passion for art their entire life but they never really pursued art professionally until meeting each other. This year, after the mutual love of art between Alex and Christy inspired renewed enthusiasm and creativity, the two decided to pursue art more seriously and formed Chrislex Studio. We are fascinated by how colors interact with each other. By working in a fluid medium, we are pursuing to understand the synergistic relationships of the colors and the mesmerizing effects they create.
https://chrislexstudio.square.site/