Sit gingerly
with one foot placed firmly
over the base of the blade.
Hold the fish and scrape it out
De scaling it
swinging it deftly right and left.
Or
press the chicken down with one hand,
hold the sickle shaped knife in another
in an artistic angle, and
bring it down ingeniously to make a slit
almost in a dance like perfection.
They don’t retaliate
Or perhaps they can’t;
tolerance is a very holy concept.
Feel the perfect line and
end their head from the body.
Struggling for breath
spitting black blood
those staring eyes and gaped open mouth
casually lain beside.
Bring out all those internal bloody chaos
through that dark hole.
Now with lot of love
and patience,
with fingers soft and skilled,
clean them
cut them
into careful sized pieces,
so that no bones or thorns
bother you later.
http://www.amolifeimage.com/
posted for http://poetryblogroll.blogspot.com/
posted for http://www.dversepoets.com/
posted for http://poetryblogroll.blogspot.com/
posted for http://www.dversepoets.com/
21 comments:
You swing an artful pen here my dear! A vicious and precise insight. I like this bit of the dark side.
A little bit of delving into the dark, don't want to get poked by any of those sharp things..haha..nicely done!
dang...intense...viceral desciptions...i dont know...i struggle with tolerance...it seems so far from love for me...you know...
Very nice and vivid...
i love it. you boldly take on the most accepted of rituals. meat-based societies have problems vegetarian societies do not. good and viceral for sure.
live and let live has always been my motto.. vivid and raw descriptions here...gave me shivers
Intense descriptions,a great write my friend.
I've often felt if more people had to kill, clean and prepare their own food, there would be a lot more vegetarians. It takes some true callousness to revel in being at the top of the food chain. Very well written.
I love the way you write of the bloody slaying and then suddenly in the last verse you write 'now with lots of love and patience, with fingers soft and skilled ...' Beautifully crafted dear lady :D
Strong, visceral. Real life isn't always pretty! Your poem says it as it is!
This entranced me. As an avid cook who understands the sacred relationship between food sources and our sustenance, this felt like an homage to those creatures. I also wonder if you feel, as I do, that many of the homemaking tasks can actually be elements of the sacred, the prayerful, the dedicated.
Your imagery is precise and striking. I read this realistically and metaphorically and it just zings. Couldn't help but wonder if the doctor part of your name is a surgeon. :0)
what a coincidence.... that your poem is exactly replicating essence of my latest post "Autobiography of a Chicken"....I was just clicking next blog button and came to yours ......loved the poem.
i love Your poem and very informative blog
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wow, what a great metaphor. My fav line includes this one: tolerance is a very holy concept. so true.
I love the way you begin with the callous, bloodied details and then finish up with a gentle, almost reverential tenderness.
I feel so sad for those poor creatures below us on the food chain :(
A very precise disection of life mirrored in the slaughter of a poor chicken.
A pen - nowadays a keyboard - is the poet's knife and you have used it here as a skilful butcher.
My favourite words:
-so that no bones or thorns
bother you later.
Yes, we usually get rid of things which can hurt or make us choke, without compassion, in a cruel way; what a smart and subtle symbolism in your words!
That's the excuse some "humans" give to kill/destroy those who don't have their same ideas, colour,religious beliefs or even the same sex.
-They don’t retaliate
Or perhaps they can’t;
tolerance is a very holy concept.
Dear, may the Lord bless you and your dear ones at Christmas and throughout the coming year.
:)
ooh, this made me re-think the fish in my freezer. Poor babies! So well written!
"Now with lot of love
and patience,
with fingers soft and skilled,
clean them
cut them
into careful sized pieces,
so that no bones or thorns
bother you later."
Somehow you have taken the craft at hand and caused my mind to drift from the kitchen. Your artistry and usage of perfect imagery dovetail to make exquisite poetry!
ouch! this is a powerfully artistic write - great descriptions throughout, and intense! nice writing
thank you very much everyone. :)
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