i see the street sweep
is here
it is early and more
needles will be dropped after
his routing - i love heroin - what a
novel
it makes of a city, what character
characters
characters
it displays along
with the jealousies of all those
perfect people
perfect people
not partaking
"recovery is not as fulfilling"
beauty
last spoken
"she is just sleeping" says the street sweep
"she is just sleeping" says the street sweep
...........
bread soaked in blood
can take one to heaven, true, true but....
heroin's wait time is of
shorter duration
the street sweep was blinded
by the light
said the local dispatch
his start time will need re-
adjustment
"but before the sun sets on her sixteen birthday, she shall prick her finger on the spindle of a spinning wheel and die"....die, die, she shall die.....
bkmackenzie 2019
copyrighted
A heavy poem. Liked the line that though the sweeper goes through more needles will drop... recovery not as rewarding as the fix.
ReplyDeleterecovery comes to very few unfortunately...bkm
DeleteWow, it's like a fever dream, powerful and fragmented. I really like the parallels you draw here.This is a fascinating response to the image.
ReplyDeletethank you sarah...bkm
DeleteThis is a dark riff on Sleeping Beauty, Barbara, steeped in night life, heroin (not a hero or a heroine to be seen) and its shorter wait time for heaven. I feel sorry for the street sweep.
ReplyDeleterecovery actually works for few of them...how sad...bkm
DeleteOh... this is such a powerful poem... the Sleeping Beauty in the image of that overdose, the world has too many sleeping beauties these days, and too few princes bringing Narcan
ReplyDeleteyes my son works at a grocery store in Portland OR...a women died right in front of the store...her last words were..."where is my purse"...this is our America...bkm
DeleteHoly shit this is extremely powerful Barbara! A punch to the gut! WOW! ...and sadly, the tragic horror show continues. During my rock & roll band days of the 60’s and 70’s I lost several bandmates (friends) to Horse. So sad! They were weak, not bad prople. Here is a poetic tribute I wrote to one of them: http://www.image-verse.com/battling-the-dragon
ReplyDeletei will read the poem...some of our major cities are some plagued with this curse...i was thinking Seattle here...what a beautiful city what a curse on our nation...so, so sad...bkm
DeleteThis was...it just stopped me cold. Those images are still burning in my head, particularly the needles yet to drop in the street.
ReplyDeletethank you...so many cities this could be...to many sleeping beauties...bkm
DeleteThis is dark and powerful! Unfortunately recovery comes to a few amount of people.
ReplyDeleteyes few make it....sad especially for the families of those...bkm
DeleteSo sad, so chilling. "She is just sleeping." The long sleep. Sigh. Poignant and powerful, Barbara.
ReplyDeleteSeattle was my inspiration for this one...bkm
DeleteThis gave me the chills. A slice of real life these days, unfortunately. A long sleep indeed, and so devastating for her family.
ReplyDeleteSeattle was my inspiration for this one...bkm
DeleteA dark and disturbing image, and a sad reality.
ReplyDeleteElizabeth
https://soulsmusic.wordpress.com/2009/01/24/bear-seasons/
Very sad...bkm
DeleteAn intense, powerful piece. Brilliant writing. And that closing quote … chilling.
ReplyDeletethank you Wendy....bkm
DeleteIntense... the references are beautifully drawn and the reality dark and painful.
ReplyDeletethank you...bkm
DeleteA very sad tale. The battle was fought, no winner left standing. If it doesn't get you today, it will wait.
ReplyDeleteit is so sad our cities...bkm
Deleteoh wow! a poem of stark beauty.
ReplyDeletei remembered the scourge over here in the 70's, the junkies mostly smoked them, or 'chased' it, and some do use the needles.
yes it seems to be so much more accepted now...that is so sad...bkm
DeleteSome forget that the older fairy tales can be extremely dark. I'm entranced by how this piece really works that classic dark but is fully modern. As Bjorn said, there are too few princes ready with Narcan these days. I know in Philadelphia there's a growing movement for more people to carry them, which is hopeful.
ReplyDeleteit is sad that we have come to this as a human race....i can not say what the answer is...bkm
DeleteAustralia is the biggest ice user in the world.Cheap and accessible. It is out of control...so many people are using it. Violent crimes on the rise are the result. Terrible scourge on the world. Good to address these realities in poetry.
ReplyDeleteyes poetry is not all love or sweetness...there are shadow sides to everything...thank you...bkm
DeleteSad indeed, and I expect it's the truth of it.
ReplyDelete