Wednesday, June 11, 2014

Foolish Beliefs


I laid swords across the shoreline
To behead lobsters and gave them to the
Voodoo man he said he'd lift the levee's curse
And use oyster beds and salt marshes
As the first line of defense

I felt like a king
Luring all those bottom feeders
With shit and they'd hurry like flies
In a summer junkyard

Of course being the greedy bastard I am
I asked for something in return
To call my own

He said, “I'll give you the special lobster
With diamond eyes.”
I said, “Fuck no—I can't eat such a rarity!
Give me your rings instead.”

He said if he takes off his rings
Like a widower turned whore
He must wait for those who have
Passed to take away his gift of poetry

I said, “You've got nothing to worry
About: he who rubs sand and glitter in the eyes
Of a lobster and passes them off as 'diamond'
Is a poetaster, not a poet.”

©2014 Anthony Desmond Scott. All Rights Reserved.

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20 comments:

brudberg said...

No.. Please let that lobster with diamond eyes be.. Really the right choice... Even if it's a fake one,.. An intriguing story you give us.. I feel like Alice in Wonderland... And almost feel like the walrus and the carpenter..

Brian Miller said...

ha. there is even a moral to your story....i cant eat diamond eyed lobster so give me your rings...ha...well you cant eat rings either but....lobster would be good with a bit of drawn butter...i like how you present this, almost fable-like

Claudia said...

a poetaster... ha.. very cool.. and so true.. love how you wove the lobsters in - and some oysters...hmmmm... i like oysters.. i'm hungry...oy

Scarlet said...

I like the ending every much ~ Diamond eyes, we know it isn't true but some gullible losers believe them anyway ~ The whole poem makes sense to me, smiles ~

Hey, I got lobster in my poem too -

Grace

Glenn Buttkus said...

I think I've met that self-same Vodoo man, but in my case he wanted to give me plastic pork ribs & I said,"Fuck no, too much plastic in my teeth already, dude," Like your lines /he must wait for those who have/passed to take away his gift of poetry/ but were those passers-by or death-dancers brother?

Anonymous said...

Very surreal Anthony and well done--reminded me of Greekj tragedy. >KB

PirateGunn said...

Great conflict there.

Anonymous said...

You've yanked us down the rabbit hole with this, Anthony! Using oyster beds and salt marshes as defences - yep, that sounds bizarrely good to me.. and I really enjoyed the conversational tone of this too.

Anonymous said...

Great! words and metaphorically beautifully said. :)

Mary said...

That last stanza -- I really like it! Anyone who can pass a lobster off as a diamond is my kind of person. Smiles.

kaykuala said...

Very outright and courageous! Great dialogue said as it is! A diamond eyed lobster? That is true one never wants to unfairly mess up something rare but to adore its uniqueness. Great write Desmond!

Hank

Anonymous said...


I liked the stanza with "I felt like a king"....

Arathi Harihar said...

Diamond eyed lobster..it sure makes one wonder..smiles..enjoyed it:)

Sumana Roy said...

I like the combination of oyster bed, diamond eyed lobster, widower turned whore and the fake glitter of poetaster.... :)

Kathy Reed said...

Made me think of King Neptune and/or Sea Hunt ...villains and poetry to boot...analogies galore

Cressida de Nova said...

Oddly enough lobsters and oysters feature in my poem as well...I can see Lewis Carrol in this one. Enjoyed it !

Anonymous said...

loved this fable from beginning to end - very cool - K

Madwoman said...

Impressive!!

Anonymous said...

Poetaster is a new word for me. Had to look it up... Thanks for the addition to my vocabulary. The lobster made me think of the "if it's too good to be true..." Quote.

Gabriella said...

Striking imagery in your poem, Anthony! You stimulate my imagination.