------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
My grandfather slams the silver goblet down.
He clears a silence
in the family talk
to comment on the wine.
It's hot. Jesus is dying of heat.
There he lies on the wall
of the sordid courtroom
trying to get air into his armpits.
Judge runs a finger
between neck and collar --
hands the sentence down.
Love me this first day of June.
I'd rather sleep with ashes
than priestly wisdom.
Of all the lonely places in the world
this is best
where debris is human.
I kiss the precious ashes
that fall from fiery flesh.
On these familiar shapes
I lay my kisses down.
Hitler is alive.
He is fourteen years old.
He does not shave.
He wants to be an architect.
The first star tonight
insanely high, virgin, calm.
I have one hour of peace
before the documented planets
burn me down.
I found this poem was very intense, each paragraph brought about a new image in my mind. I thought it was very interesting to refer to ‘Jesus lying on the wall’, I understood that as a crucifix on the wall in a very hot room. To be honest I had a hard time putting the meaning of this poem together. The line that mentioned rather sleeping with ashes as opposed to priestly wisdom was sort of connected to the crucifix on the wall. However, I am not sure where Hitler came into play, and who he represents in this poem. It was an interesting read that really made me think.
ReplyDelete- J. Christi