the poetry knook :: the poetry of stephen m. james :: indianapolis, indiana » fight https://www.tpkpoetry.com the poetry of stephen m. james Fri, 28 Mar 2014 01:04:39 +0000 en-US hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.8.3 Tigers (or your tormentors) https://www.tpkpoetry.com/poetry/tigers-or-your-tormentors/ https://www.tpkpoetry.com/poetry/tigers-or-your-tormentors/#comments Mon, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 I never wanted to kill for anyone,
until you held me,
down, your face rests
on my sox and shoes slide,
next to you I wanted to rise and slay
tigers,

Not cuddly pillows
nor caged cubs
that suckle dreams of independence,
but savannah-bred savages and ice-aged
mastodons and saber-toothed
tigers

Growling, pouncing a bout:
boxers breathlessly clinched,
our softest thorns snag
ear and hair, teeth
marks, cross hairs align with
tigers

These slabs of meat began to come
into my head, I will provide
soup around a blazing campfire,
ladling brisket and blade that bleed
warmth under the fur of our
tigers.

]]> https://www.tpkpoetry.com/poetry/tigers-or-your-tormentors/feed/ 0 June Widow (after Saving Private Ryan) https://www.tpkpoetry.com/poetry/june-widow-after-saving-private-ryan/ https://www.tpkpoetry.com/poetry/june-widow-after-saving-private-ryan/#comments Mon, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 If I pick her, she will be torn,
beautiful flowers, back over the pond, in a vase,
the French countryside–I’ve seen her wear it on Sundays,
the place we met–the demolished cafes–sans the coffee;
we share memory of mothers with the crash of cannons,
beyond the river where red was roses and Revlon
and knee cuts on the playground,
we left our school-teaching-selves:
like the rubble above our brothers
that collapsed our bridge home.

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