New work

I have been writing a lot, and it's showing here. I'll have some photos and the usual commentary next week, after we return from our trip around Ontario.

another....

wild one

there's a flame lit on my tongue
the men must have

ten years have passed and i have let it all go
the bras with lace
disintegrate
the perfect tits
bombs with honey everywhere
lips
overstuffed with hard vowels

when you touch my skin
it burns for days
and cancer waits like a dull-witted
companion
in my womb
where nothing but passion
once shouted

there's a fight in my belly
two sisters pulling knives
i try to keep their movement
undetected
but the jabs and wounds
leak over the restaurant linoleum
my tampon
explodes -- birds pick at scabs

there's a flame on my tongue
i try to swallow

ten years plus ten and
the men are still out there
sitting on my lawn
waking up the neighbors
with their guffaws and dirty jokes
they wait for me
they have the time
they know where i have been

Poem Tuesday - because I feel like it

zoomorphic

i woke up this morning to an antelope.
last night it was my husband.
now the hooves
have covered the bedding in mud
and he's kicking up the carpet,
chewing on my nightgown.

on the bus
llamas push their newsprint
all over my white skirt –
blow their noses loud
behind my ear –
eat burritos next to the heater
so that the whole tube
stinks of refried
tragedies.

at work
the gazelles chatter - the typewriter
turns into an anteater,
the boss,
a baboon,
naturally.

Poem Friday

fantasies for girls, 5

he wants to brand you

make you feel older than you are
sexier than your shoes
the ones you bought for your girlfriend’s wedding
the strapless hussies

he wants to put his brand on you

and you are ready for the burning sensation -
the larger than average size
the 'sperminator' as he is so righteously called
by the guys

he wants to rename you

call you Lucy or Sandra
something he will remember
the coworker winks behind your cubicle
you uncover the hickey - a sore eye
blinking through love


welcome the man who makes you reach over to get
his number
you know he wants nothing more
than the thing very thing
you'll give him

The Cult of the Sexy Mother

I'm not sure if the source of the new sex symbol is all together promising, but one thing is true - younger women are out, and experienced gals are in. With shows like Desperate Housewives and Demi and Cameron parading with their younger boys, there's no denying the new status of the 30-40-50-something woman.

There are numerous reasons why this trend has emerged. Older professionals, along with their teen counterparts, are driving the market. If it isn't targeted for the wealthy tween, then it's targeted for their condo dwelling, childless aunt. Women have money to burn now, and they are demanding the attention (and competition) for their hard earned cash. You better believe advertisers are going to make these gals feel sexy (with a little help from their products, of course).

That said, most women don't need a provider or a father figure for their kids, so older males have less appeal than before.

We live longer and have kids later in life. I believe this contributes to how we feel "in our skin" at different stages in our life. If we aren't having kids until we're in our thirties, then it's only natural our sense of desire and desirability will follow suit. If we are living well into our seventies and eighties, why should we stop having sex at age fifty?

Equality. Okay, a form of equality. There's a tendency to compensate for the failings of equal status (lower pay) by taking liberties ala our male counterparts. "Hey, if they can date the young blonde at the office, what's stopping me?"

The prevelance of alternative religions. Often rooted in the life/death cycle, of which women play a more dominant role, new age religions promote women's power and sexuality. They often celebrate the cult of womanhood. Goddess spirituality is gaining ground and influencing our cultural acceptance of female contribution.

Thinking through all of this, part of me wants to celebrate the fact that older women are gaining notice. It's great that my older sisters are having fun and living playfully. But I can't help but feel we are lassoed with the burden of being defined solely by our projected sexual self. When, rather, we should be celebrating the contributions and fully lived aspects of "the older woman."

What women want - could it be as simple as all this?

Poem accepted

Just found out my poem Fantasies for Girls, 1 is going to be published in nthposition this fall. Hooray! Happy dance ala Christine.

Meetings

Whew, I have been quite the social butterfly lately. I met another great blogger, Dave Pollard. He's every bit as compassionate and insightful in person as online. It was an energizing meeting.

And I connected with Kereena last week - also a very intriguing and caring individual.

It's refreshing to know that not all of us online are needy, socially limited or psycho. ;-)

Projects are keeping me pretty mono-minded right now, so not many rants here as of late. My poetry is coming out of the woods and storming the village. That is my way of saying that I will be publishing a collection very soon. I expect you will want to buy ten copies, yes?

Music also has played a big role these past two months. I have been writing songs, as you recall, and discovering a great bunch of new artists, like Langhorne Slim, Tito and Tarantula, Holly Palmer...my inner rock-n-roll goddess is awake. Like you don't want to be Joan Jett, too!