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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 10 of 10. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by Atticus on July 22, 2005, at 8:54:15
Veins flutter with whiskey angels,
Booze cherubim on the wing,
Brain aflame with brimstone candles,
Don’t want to feel a godd*mn thing.
Sweet, sweet poison, unholy waters,
For when my sins begin to sting,
And the walls are breathing hard
’Cause shredded nerves decide to sing
Delta blues slide guitar chords
So dark and shivery that they bring
An ache deep in a ragged soul
That makes church bells cease to ring.
The chalice brims with black blood,
Hosts pressed from neon and needles cling
To a tongue struck dumb and numb
At a mass where pain is king.
Posted by sleepygirl on July 23, 2005, at 23:36:07
In reply to Brain Aflame With Brimstone Candles, posted by Atticus on July 22, 2005, at 8:54:15
sounds so sacrificial, I'm picturing a lot of velvet and darkness, why do I see velvet?-rhetorical question I guess, so somber and soft maybe, don't mind me a bit, I'm all aflutter with associations
Posted by cockeyed on July 24, 2005, at 23:06:54
In reply to Brain Aflame With Brimstone Candles, posted by Atticus on July 22, 2005, at 8:54:15
Atticus, please pardon my amazement. But this is one hell of a ride. Right now I'm on the sleepygirl ride, and my brain is all afloat with cheap vodka and the demand to go down to the cellar and play some Guitar. Ever listen to Chuck Berry's "Down Bound Train" No slide but some very well, as far as I'm concerned, Intoxicating riffs. In fact, "School Days" has some of the best guitar riffing I know of. He was successfull as all hell, but you can hear the hell a lot of his chords. cockeyed.
Posted by Atticus on July 27, 2005, at 9:12:24
In reply to Re: Brain Aflame With Brimstone Candles, posted by sleepygirl on July 23, 2005, at 23:36:07
Actually, swathes of draped velvet and the darkness of an immense cathedral are appropriate visual associations here. The poem employs a lot of the Roman Catholic imagery I grew up with as metaphors. Atticus
Posted by sleepygirl on July 27, 2005, at 11:51:44
In reply to Re: Brain Aflame With Brimstone Candles » sleepygirl, posted by Atticus on July 27, 2005, at 9:12:24
that's just what I was picturing because of my own catholic school upbringing
Posted by Atticus on July 27, 2005, at 16:08:04
In reply to Re: Brain Aflame With Brimstone Candles » Atticus, posted by sleepygirl on July 27, 2005, at 11:51:44
Growing up in an Irish Catholic household, I was awash in that religious and social culture. I end up tapping it in poems every so often because it holds such a rich lexicon of meanings for me. As comic/actor Denis Leary comments wryly during one of his stand-up routines, you may leave the church, but the church never leaves you -- no matter how hard you try to give it the slip. Atticus
Posted by sleepygirl on July 27, 2005, at 22:46:55
In reply to Re: Brain Aflame With Brimstone Candles » sleepygirl, posted by Atticus on July 27, 2005, at 16:08:04
That my friend seems very true, because I have certainly tried very hard and I just can't get rid of it!
Posted by Atticus on July 28, 2005, at 14:11:35
In reply to Re: Brain Aflame With Brimstone Candles, posted by sleepygirl on July 27, 2005, at 22:46:55
Perhaps it's creeping into that bloody dark confessional booth too many times as a child, and the penance that inevitably followed. I'd think that's got to make some kind of impression, and either foment meek acquiescence or vitriolic rebellion later in life. Ta. Atticus
Posted by ramsea on August 9, 2005, at 3:45:49
In reply to Brain Aflame With Brimstone Candles, posted by Atticus on July 22, 2005, at 8:54:15
Posted by Atticus on August 9, 2005, at 8:12:20
In reply to Re: Passionate, powerful, peace to you (nm) » Atticus, posted by ramsea on August 9, 2005, at 3:45:49
Many thanks, ramsea. And to you, too. Atticus
This is the end of the thread.
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