POETRY

Some of these poems date abit, but still stand up to scrutiny. Some are best described with a self-coinedphrase: sepia goth.

What is sepia goth?

It is goth writing that is not quite so dark. I suspect itcomes from an intense optimism so strong it can defy my intense pessimism.

Haiku - Alienation AD MM – Domino – Tall Dark UninvitedGuest – Rotten – Interviewsfrom Beyond the Grave – Ma montre – Songe – Return to top

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Haiku

Praise the haiku for theircompression! They're like snapshots, their last line an emotional tag thatphotographs don't have. Not quite haiku, not quite sonnets, these meditationsportray a sense of cosmic harmony and a blindness resulting from our limitedvision of sacred balance. These were written in 2001.

Lapissky, deep blue,

Fieldof windswept marigolds;

Mid-Maymorning bliss.

Cold,dark heavy clouds

Heathaze gone, air is yellow;

Summerstorm cleans all.

Aninstant holding my breath

Afish bowl in my lap

Atree reaching below, behind and above me

Thestars and sky above it.

Norbreathe: the world has come full circle.

Darkembrace

Myriadpinpricks

Dottingour certainties:

Cosmicacupuncture

toheal our anthropomorphic arrogance.

Haiku - Alienation AD MM – Domino– Tall Dark Uninvited Guest – Rotten– Interviewsfrom Beyond the Grave – Ma montre – Songe – Return to top

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AlienationAD MM

My SIN is invalid,

And so is my ID.

IQ uncertain,

Bank card NIP forgotten.

Hello I am [ ]M [ ]F [ ]N

Driver's licence, medicard, registration.

Please write your MM/DD/YY of birth.

Driver’s licence, medicard, registration.

Account, age, telephone, credit: too manu numbers.

Secure password, changed every six months.

 sums it up:

I is a 20th century thing.

(revised 2006)

Haiku - Alienation AD MM – Domino– Tall Dark Uninvited Guest – Rotten– Interviewsfrom Beyond the Grave – Ma montre – Songe – Return to top

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Domino

Akeen observer of life has at one point remarked to me that everybody wants tobe a victim. I wouldn’t go so far as to say everybody, but I must concede a lotof people do seem to relish in drawing attention to the woes that befall themat the hands of other people. Except, woes befall everybody. Life has a way ofpulling you into the domino effect. You’re standing there, and suddenlysomething set in motion miles away falls on you. Whack!

Thatfriend also told me that life would be simpler if humans didn’t have to liveall bunched up together. I can only reply with this little story:

Sayyou decide to live alone in the woods, far from humans, seeking a simple life,far from anything that could befall you and anyone who can make you a victim.Say the winter was long and harsh. Then, come March, while the ground is stillfrozen over and covered in snow, you walk around, trying to gather what foodyou can. Something is watching you.

“Schnookums,it’s only got two legs, are you sure it’s ok? What if it was sick and turnedbad?”

“Honey-bear,”said the papa bear as he kissed his mama bear, “it’s walking. It’s fresh. Andanyway, beggars can’t be choosers.”

Crunch!Domino effect reaches you anyway.

Haiku - Alienation AD MM – Domino– Tall Dark Uninvited Guest – Rotten– Interviewsfrom Beyond the Grave – Ma montre – Songe – Return to top

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The Tall,Dark, Uninvited Guest (Pauvre Rose Latulipe)

Shewas dancing.

Oh,the thrill of the forbidden dance,

dancingwith a stranger
on your wedding night.

Youstep forth,

liftedby your waist and hands;

themoving waltz cannot disturb you

morethan this warm gloved hand.

Sometimesyou feel his eyes gauging you,

butmaybe you imagine them,

foryou dare not look up;

yourheart strangled, your throat strangled

byinvisible, benighted claws,

byinvisible, benighted screams;

themoving waltz cannot disturb you

morethan his warm vested clutch.

Sometimesyou feel his heart beating avidly,

butmaybe you imagine it,

oryou dare not press yours on that cage.

Yourpalms sweaty, your arms trembling

fromdark, silent threats,

fromdark, silent yanks;

themoving waltz cannot disturb you

morethan this warm tuxedoed lock

Sometimesyou feel his body pressing close,

andin those times it leaves nothing to the imagination,

andthat is most frightening of all,

foryou have no choice but to follow it

whenit leaves,

thisdancing chain.

Haiku - Alienation AD MM – Domino– Tall Dark Uninvited Guest – Rotten– Interviewsfrom Beyond the Grave – Ma montre – Songe – Return to top

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Goth? I don't dress in black, and blood didn't tasteexciting, but I can't deny the urgency with which our world seems toprecipitate its own end. This is based on astute observation of the zoo aroundme.

Rotten

Slapthe vomit on your back

Driedup, cracking, half-chewed, coloured,

Slapmore vomit on your back

Fivebucks only, buy it fresh

Makesure others drip with it too.

Don'tbe silly, black flies love

Thewalking cafeteria on your back.

Slapsome vomit here and there

Don'tyou worry about the smell

it'sjust your inside rotting outside.

Allthrown out? Make space for dessert:

Thehorrid bile that's left in you

Thatsuits the vomit on your back.

It'llcome out, you know.

Arotten apple won't make pie

Arotten egg will only stink

Butsome insist that with some mayo

They can still serve you salad.

Haiku - Alienation AD MM – Domino– Tall Dark Uninvited Guest – Rotten– Interviewsfrom Beyond the Grave – Ma montre – Songe – Return to top

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Interviewsfrom beyond the Grave

-I died. That was the end of it.

-Getting up every night requires so much effort. If I hadto do it again, I'd die someplace nice. Do you know if they offer package dealsto the Bahamas? I hear it's very nice this time of year.

-You get bored so quickly. I wouldn't take this kind oflife if I had to do it over again. The excitement really dies down after thefirst few blood lusts.

-Like, I absolutely love it, man, you know? It's, like,so totally cool. You get to spy on a gadzillion people, right? Like, you'reinvisible, okay? And, like, no wall can resist you. So cool.

-Life, 10 266, had treated me well. Unlife is manageable,but young people, nowadays. . . there's no respect, 10 267. I was just mindingthe pigeons, and they get scared and spill, 10 268, all my seeds on the ground.

Haiku - Alienation AD MM – Domino– Tall Dark Uninvited Guest – Rotten– Interviewsfrom Beyond the Grave – Ma montre – Songe – Return to top

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Ma montre

Ce matin ma montre s'est arrêtée

Et soudain le temps fut stoppé.

Le non-être errait dans le vide

Dans un néant digne d'Euclide.

Mais l'espoir s'est vite dissout:

J'ai vieilli d'un jour malgré tout.

Haiku - Alienation AD MM – Domino– Tall Dark Uninvited Guest – Rotten– Interviewsfrom Beyond the Grave – Ma montre – Songe – Return to top

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songe

meglissai

subtile

surl'eau

fleuvenain

auteint vert

perlé.

voguai

lematin

lesoleil

selevant

au-delà

desberges

camoufflées

parune vie

verdoyante

immobile

enchantée

captivante.

m'entourent

desmilliers

delégers

vestiges

decolombes

agitées

flotille

innocente

d'unblanc

mousseux

qu'effleure

lesoleil.

mescheveux

mesdoigts longs

commede grands

rubansblonds

caressentl'eau

génèrent

uneonde

unevague

àpeine

perçue

oùdanse

lentement

leduvet.

voyageai

silencieuse

surles flots

langourssentl'eau

génèrent

uneonde

unevague

àpeine

perçue

oùdanse

lentement

leduvet.

voyageai

silencieuse

surles flots

langoureux

dansle calme

éternel.

Haiku- Alienation AD MM – Domino– Tall Dark Uninvited Guest – Rotten– Interviewsfrom Beyond the Grave – Ma montre – Songe – Return to top

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These poems © SaskiaLatendresse 2000-2006.