Bitter To The Touch

Grey-blue irises narrow their focusUpon crystalline embersViewed through a windowIn the City of St. Francis A misplaced heart on this occasionProvides a foolish encomiumFor confederates among the ashes You, the highwayman of contradictionAnd your carelessness of uncommon crueltyOffered no harbor for the noncombatantAmong the incandescent ruins You celebrate with your Barbie-bitch smile
The anniversary of the anonymous
With an appetite for a hardness of the heart

— Michael Anthony, Jul 20, 2009

About the Author

Region, Country: San Francisco Bay Area - USA, USA

Favorite Poets: Bukowski, Billy Collins, Ted Kooser, Haiku & Harvey Kurtzman (a visual poet, of sorts)

Critiques

raskin

17 years ago

Last stanza

The last stanza is strong, the depiction of artifice in the first line is great. Scathing. I enjoyed reading. raskin

Seren

17 years ago

Raskin is right, scathing is

Raskin is right, scathing is the perfect word to describe this one ... You, the highwayman of contradiction And your carelessness of uncommon cruelty Those words are ripping, Loved them ... Regards Jayne :)

Bonitaj

17 years ago

CITY OF ST. FRANCIS....?

Are we talking Assisi Italy? Just like to know where I am or should be... :) Great figures of speech usage. "irises narrow their focus" wow! Trying to visualize these flowers before they open and I can almost picture it! Would love to get the "Full STory" behind this one! :) CHeers Boni

Michael Anthony

17 years ago

The City By The Bay

Hi Boni, The city in the poem is San Francisco. I was actually referring to the the human anatomy with the word Irises. I was trying to recreate imagery I have seen many times when walking along 19th avenue - looking up at people staring back from their Victorian windows. I was putting myself in one of these windows, and thinking about a relationship that was more like an empire of ash among bitterness at the time. Sounds like I mostly succeeded in expressing the bitterness I felt. I have, thankfully, moved on. I am always fascinated at how the deepest scars often provide the most unexpected beauty. I definitely liked where you were going with your interpretation though. Maybe I should have taken a different approach? Best Mike

Bonitaj

17 years ago

and what a city it is!

Thank you for that explanation. What a interesting and clever way of processing your visual/emotional experiences! Either you're a latent artist or a brilliant poet or both! :) well done! Boni

Michael Anthony

17 years ago

Hey Boni,I’ll defer to

Hey Boni, I'll defer to others on the artist, brilliant poet thought, but thanks for the kind words. I think all poets probably endeavor to be artists with their pens. Best Mike

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