Sunday, April 27, 2008

#27 Outrageous Contrasts/Oil and Water



little david

your smooth soft freckled body
and the quiet fury of those children
in grass up to your knees
that burns like fires in the fields
kites that fly in circles
naked jaws and neckbones of skulls
the shaken joy of snowflakes
crawling lines of blood, and the spit of guns
and the sleeping gift of seeds
a fucking handful of shit
lucid shoals of children's laughter
preserved, a needle in the brain
a bird's egg in the hand
the stone that killed goliath
your soft clinging mouth
exhausted children calling, calling
like the lamb before the lion
the kid goat tied to a tree
like a kiss upon the brow
the tap tap of a drum
a bed that's warmed by love
faraway no thing moves but
the silence of a secret
the blinking of a crow's eye
where church bells thrash the morning


(Video: The Prayer Of The Children))
.

8 comments:

Head Cookie said...

This is a very emotional piece wish I could have watched the video it isn't working for me.

Anonymous said...

Amazing, your writing is some of the best I've read.

lucid shoals of children's laughter

incredible, this image, truly incredible.

Is there a backstory to share?

Joyce Ellen Davis said...

Did the video work for you, Jo? I'm sorry yours didn't work, jadey. It's something. I was very touched by it, and the contrast of my own children's lives. So I decided to try to write contrasting lines, those children, and mine. (the goat tied to a tree, by the way, was used as bait for a tiger...)

Joyce Ellen Davis said...

Read every other line. It's like two poems fused into one. (I hope)

Tammy Brierly said...

Joyce you never cease to amaze me! These are such moving, haunting and vivid images.

Tammy Brierly said...

The video worked well and that song was beautiful! XXOO

rebecca said...

one word: heartbreaking.

when will this world change?

Tumblewords: said...

arggh. What are we doing? Excellent post!