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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 3 of 3. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by Atticus on September 29, 2004, at 11:18:23
Elf Storage
Ribbed riot-gate sheets of somber gray steel
Sprout flashy splashy spray-paint blossoms
In graffiti greenhouse hanging gardens,
Rainbow-rich riotous eruptions planted
By Van Gogh taggers and Picasso gang-bangers,
Gaudy graphic silent violence draped
Across steadfast stoic rows
Of rust-encrusted regimented ranks,
Square metal portals padlocked
Into a forlorn drab military parade-rest formation
Set amid leprous discolored
Crumbling tumbling cement walls
Under a degraded faded jaded sign
That proclaims “elf Storage” in once-white letters
Now yellowed and crooked and chipped
Like the teeth of a homeless hopeless giant.I regard the words with bemused eyes,
Then crunch across a minefield
Of broken glass and twisted bits of nails
Hidden among ragged clumps of thistle gristle
To slip through a slashed gash in a chain-link fence
And press my ear to one of the psychedelic doors,
Half-hoping to hear some muffled clatter,
The patter of tiny tools and
Shrill high-pitched elfish chatter,
But only the sweet scent of decay
Wafts to me from within this abattoir,
And it’s probably dead rats,
But I imagine tiny workers
With doll-like delicate skilled fingers
Now arthritic and past their prime
Led to this God-forsaken place
By a red-coated bearded basta*d
With no retirement plan in mind.
I’ve never seen an elderly elf
In any saccharine-packed Christmas special,
But I ain’t gonna fu** with Santa,
I think, lighting up a cig,
So I trudge back to the sidewalk
And head for a pub to inhale a drink.
-- Atticus
Posted by Jai Narayan on September 30, 2004, at 8:39:18
In reply to poem ... Elf Storage, posted by Atticus on September 29, 2004, at 11:18:23
My reaction to your poem was to try to figure out how to write just like you.
Gosh.
I am an Atticus wannbe.
I would love to try.
I don't know if I have the power in me but....
well. What do you think?*philo-Atticus a new religion "beauty of the Atticus word"?
I loved all your poems and this one is intreguing because of the gentle simplicity within the complexity.
Love the topic...and the terraine.
twisted nails....I love the image.All your poems have a home in me. you use certain words and images that are part of my vocabulary like: bullwinkle, alice in wonderland, the beat generation, etc .
we speak the same language.
I told you a long time ago that I have never met someone who spoke my language before.
It's uncanny.
In your poems you use my favorite words.
Words I have used for years in my poems.
So my friend, we are in tune.
But you knew that....
right?
Jai the first to form this new religion of philo-Atticus, we wear steele toed boots, leather jackets....my god, my hair, spiked hair..if you have anyother requests of your loyal follower...: *)
Posted by Atticus on September 30, 2004, at 10:55:40
In reply to Re: poem ... Elf Storage, posted by Jai Narayan on September 30, 2004, at 8:39:18
Hi Jai,
It's funny how noticing a missing letter from a sign that's supposed to say "Self Storage" at a run-down facility in a grim section of town can somehow synthesize St. Nick, up to his eyeballs in generations of whacked elves, and Tony Soprano in my head. Anyway, thanks for the kind words, as always, and I hope that ankle is coming along. ;) Atticus
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