ZOOM FROM GLOOM
LASCIATE OGNI SPERANZA!
poem for klaus nomi and baklava
O east village sylph!
agitating mine heart!
where dost thou now sing
thy heavenly airs,
or cast
thine heavnely gaze
(thine eyelids like rose petals)
while i am here
as all about turns to
dust and ashes in the suns
persistent rays:
a fetid bog
is the world in which we live
without you, klaus.
where to go for respite!
where, among these gray faces,
might a soul find balm
from these earthly miseries?!
where?!
to the bakery section of
save-on foods, of course!
where spying a little box
of something sweet--
pretty squares morsels
all done up in a row,
whose charms alone might stave off
the hardening of this heart--
i hold it to mine chest and casting
mine eyes heavenward i say
"o thank you klaus,
thank you for providing me this
little piece of heaven";
and then i go to the till to pay.
o klaus! o baklava!
o saviour of kingdoms!
all my love with you do go.
the poem really took off when I got to the 'bakery section' part. I imagine you beginning to salivate at that point and rushing to finish the poem while one of your eyes is trained the whole time on that apple crisp that's staring back at you invitingly from the kitchen table. Get your priorities straight ! apple crisp first, poetry second !