Loving Edgar Allan Poe

Edgar, leading your flock 
of raven hounds,
could you smell it on me: 
despair and weakness
with a whiff of amontillado?

Do you possess a sixth sense?
Am I the low hanging body 
on your corpse tree?

Would you love me, 
then leave me, bury me,
mourning me with a proper lament?

Brick me in with your own hands,
whisper sweet nevermore in my ear.

Could we role play in a sepulcher?
Let me call you cousin.

Rise and fall for me, Edgar.
Swing your pendulum round and round.

Feel the tell tale beat of my heart,
served just the way you like it:
cold and seasoned with despair.

Find it here.

Peeled

My reflection is worn and weary.
I check every day.
She never alters for the better.

The mirror cracks.
Alice stranded on the wrong side.
Impossible Alice,
flushed from her victory
over the Red Queen,
fresh and full of hot tea and cakes,
smoked and delicious.

I peel her apple skin,
round and round and round,
from bottom to top.

I wear her well.
She hangs a little loose.
I can make adjustments.

I left her lying there,
flayed and quiet,
cored and tasteless.

Dig the hole deep.
Six feet.  Twelve feet.
A nail through her forehead,
heart staked.

She will not grope her way out
of her grave.
She will not rise, to walk,
a zombie at rest.

I prefer my pie 
with cinnamon and nutmeg.

Find it here.

3Muse Challenge - Gotta Dance

My black, white, and red image ended up being a little off color.

Sigh.

Showbiz - Take a Word Challenge

This weeks challenge over at Take a Word was Showbiz.

I've always had a weakness for the original Vamp, Theda Bara.

Checking my posting list, I can't believe that it's been fifteen days since I responded to a challenged or posted.  My schedule has been unusually packed but I missed this so much.

I'm glad to have had time to fit a piece in!

Creativity is always a joy.

Where I Live - 3Muses Challenge

I first came to New Orleans on a weekend trip.  What I remember most on the bus trip

 into town were the cemeteries: "The Cities of the Dead"

As a child of the modern suburbs, my second impression

was of the history of the place.

The buildings and the streets of New Orleans were hundreds of years old.

Most of what I grew up with were buildings that were all less than a decade old.

Add in the music, the food, and the people,

I was in love.