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I Like That Prosetry Stuff

Posted by blighters rock on May 30, 2011 - 17:05

I like that prosetry stuff
where words are placed
as melodious arrows
to an inevitable truth
dishing out a lengthy sentence
given on grounds
of crimes to rhyme
flushed down the pan of the past
long overdue
period
I like that prosetry stuff
where punctuation has been embalmed
on the insistence of time
ruthlessly buried
beneath an unsubscribed headstone
where a chisel suggests
that there was once life
I like that prosetry stuff
good old words made plain
seemingly scattered
spontaneously
in a warm soba
served to cool suspicion
if only for moments
of suffocating ecstasy
I like that prosetry stuff
a lazy drinking song
sung by those sober enough
to give weight to the words
in which rhyme is a fugitive
where the throats of stanzas are slit
and meaning is comfortably hung
to drip its blood
zinging through the air
a child angel sat
held in awe
as molten plastic
falls from his hand
I like that prosetry stuff
a runaway romance
for regretful lovers
whose arms had been caged by fear
legs bound by faith
in a literal religion
full of shortcomings
and denouncement
lovers all the same
and sure in the knowledge
that the rounds of mental masturbation
they poured over the classics
were nothing
but the planning
of a little death
I like that prosetry stuff
because it reminds me
that everything new
has been done before
by a bouncy young poet I heard
on an old Argo record
whose shape I have taken for myself
and who will now be wise enough
to learn that his industry
has finally been recognised as important
if only prideful greed
would not deny his existence
rounding up his titles
by all means necessary
and burning them
in a very private holocaust
I like that prosetry stuff
in which
after careful consideration
and untold remorse
the versifier
has firmly shaken
the hand of the writer
altogether unafraid
of the horrors of change
after talking itself out
of committing suicide
on the touchy premise
that life really did seem to smell of roses
at least for a while
I like that prosetry stuff
a claustrophobic conversation
in which a great new prosetrist
or prosetriste as she will be known
who will not sue me
reminds us all
that the rain is full of air and the air is full of rain
I like that prosetry stuff
a hierographic polygamy
animated by the whistling tribes
of a welcome apocalyse
laying waste to decades of toiling
in the abattoir
of a thesaurus
which I have consulted
on countless occasions
for this
but that is fine
because I am being honest
uselessly goading
and massaging letters
in the thankless task
of complicity
I like that prosetry stuff
cementing as one
the mountains of love
we locked up in the shed at the end of the garden
the love we let whimper
in a corner
like a dog
that we would kick
out of guilt
for the children we had forgotten
at the supermarket
I like that prosetry stuff
a new vague
in a push for prosaic domesticity
of poetic withdrawal
a western spaghetti
beaten and pressed
by a party of chaff extractors
whose only hope
as little specks of dust
in the clouds of forever
was to be held for a moment
by someone whose mind
was empty enough to read
without prejudice

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Comments

maisie | May 30, 2011 - 19:29

such a long sprawl, and I liked some of it.

Dare we ask who this prosetryist is?

I only write pomes myself, since I'm undereducated at the greater art of Poetry, and stories, of a low and underdeveloped mind... and opinions, memiors, and plain lies... lol

Highhat | May 30, 2011 - 20:01

Not a single bit of punctuation. This is something new from you Richard. Really I liked it even though I didn't understand all the words. Well done. I'm glad you liked writing it- it is very good.

;)Pia

celticman | May 30, 2011 - 21:15

n which rhyme is a fugitive' I like the rhyme where a fugitive hides from a crime...

MistakenMagic | May 31, 2011 - 15:30

This is a real tour de force, Richard! Especially love these lines:

"I like that prosetry stuff
a lazy drinking song
sung by those sober enough
to give weight to the words
in which rhyme is a fugitive
where the throats of stanzas are slit
and meaning is comfortably hung
to drip its blood"

You've a wealth of great images and it was a pleasure to read. Many congrats from this prosetriste!

Magic xxx

MistakenMagic | May 31, 2011 - 15:31

P.S. Would you mind if I tweeted a link to your piece on my Twitter account?

MistakenMagic | June 1, 2011 - 11:11

Aww thanks, Richard! Trying a different tack is always a smart move - I was at a stalemate with narrative poetry and my switch to abstract prosetry has to be one of the best writing moves I've ever made! Oh and you've been tweeted ;)

Magic xxx

maggyvaneijk | June 1, 2011 - 11:19

Well first of all, I had never heard of the term prosetry (shame on me) so I've learned something whilst reading this epic piece. Like Magic said there is a wealth of imagery in here that I couldn't possibly pick out from. I love how you take us from the local pub to a mythical apocalyptic realm in just a few lines. I also love the form, it flows smoothly especially with the added repetition. Good stuff Richard, keep going with this!

RachelPatricia | June 1, 2011 - 16:32

Lost for words, blighters - partly because I think you've used them all in this sublime prosetry-piece ;O)

I wanted so badly to copy and paste a favourite 'stanza' but I honestly couldn't - the next became better than the last and I gave in in the end. You really should write more like this, it's such a delight to read and the imagery will haunt me for days, weeks, decades even - the slitting of a stanza's throat in particular. I also think the subtle salute to Magic was beautifully done, too :)

This needs cherries, apples, bananas, POW and allsorts, it really does. Just brilliant, well done, loved it :)

Rachel xx

RachelPatricia | June 1, 2011 - 17:12

I think it's a crime to not tell a person just how good their talent is - whatever that talent may be - when it's so blatantly obvious. Keep writing like this and you won't get rid of me! ;o)

Honestly, blighters, this is top-rate stuff if you ask me (I'm no expert, but I do have taste - I think!). I was originally going to suggest breaking it into seperate stanzas but I had a good think and realised that that would be a crime, too - it's utterly perfect as it is and the continuity only adds to the power and melody running through it. Poetry/prosetry isn't about structure or punctuation, for me - it's about connecting with your reader and this one certainly has with many of us.

I'll shut up now, but I really could go on all day about this if I had free license to - one of my many favourites on here and I'm rooting for you that it gets the accolades it deserves :)

All the best to you, too - can't wait for the next!

Rachel xx

Ewan | June 2, 2011 - 07:03

A very good poem full of images and allusions. A stream of consciousness rant, held together by the repetition of the refrain/title. For me it's the right decision to dispense with punctuation for this poem. I believe you have a few typos, which in this kind of thing are quite distracting and – possibly - put doubt in the mind of the reader about word selections you have deliberately made.

“served to soothe suspicion” This is a typo, no?

“in the blooded abattoir” do you mean bloodied here. I don't know
if this one is deliberate.

Ecstasy not ecstacy.

“I like that prosetry stuff
because it reminds me
that everything new
has been done before
by a bouncy young poet I heard
on an old Argo record”

A fantastic, subtle allusion and a reference to the most disappointing aspect of writing.

“or prosetriste as she will known” will be known?

I am a great fan of daring experimentation and congratulations on something which does appear to be new, the neologism 'prosetrist, prosetriste' although 'prosetry' has made it as far as the Urban Dictionary, if not the OED.

A terrific read. Keep experimenting.

Ewan

simonbarget (not verified) | June 2, 2011 - 18:32

I like this a lot. I have the same sense that I do with my own stuff that when it's down and out on paper you can be happy that there's not much artifice in it. It's honest. However much it chimes with others, which it might not do, it still takes your experience and tries to fashion as much truth out of it as possible. Whether great or not, there is still something noble and good in the sentiment.

insertponceyfre... | June 3, 2011 - 12:03

well - I can't think of anything new to say, so I'll just stick a fantastic on the end of all the others. well done

shoe | June 5, 2011 - 15:05

Yay! a poet with something to say! I hope you write more.

rjnewlyn | June 5, 2011 - 18:23

Yes very good indeed. Although I have the niggling feeling that you were aiming to satirise something to begin with and have ended up becoming it! A risk worth taking though ...

Rob

Dynamaso | June 6, 2011 - 07:41

Really like this piece a lot, Richard. Could it be you're turning into a poet? If so, I think you'll make a damned fine one, if this effort is anything to go by.

Mark

fatboy74 | June 11, 2011 - 10:36

One of the worst things about being away from this site at the minute is that I'm missing stuff like this Blighters. If this is your first attempt at poetry/prosetry (whatever the hell we label it as) I think we have a star in the making. I'm not keen on prosetry but I love this and also what Magic and Maggy do so maybe I do like it. Please write more of this - I imagine you were close to POW - not a bad start! ATB Fatboy

fatboy74 | June 12, 2011 - 14:18

For me it feels like abstract free verse, someone like delapruch or macmanaman write what I would consider prosetry, although when the writing is good what does any of that matter. Another read and this is even better. :-)