Let’s not be arbitrary about this,
our memories of wooden decks, nesting yellow jackets.
Don’t forget what you always wanted:
this empty sore, this ravenous ache.
All is forgiven, and on its way to being forgotten;
a little more memory goes down the shower drain each day.
Sometimes mine sings as it leaves me:
No more Mr. Nice Guy. No more Mr. Cleeeeeeeean …
Someday, we might all erupt somehow—
but probably not today.
If it’s Tuesday p.m., check out Open Link Night at dVerse Poets.
Marilyn Rauch Cavicchia 
Wow! I love the strength of the imperatives in the first two stanzas, and all the poem’s surprises.
Thank you! I am still not myself with all the change going on around here (younger child in school full time), so it was a good time to do something deliberately less coherent. 🙂
Oh: and a killer title. Fantastic!
Thanks, Jennifer. I *think* I’m being influenced a bit by your chapbook, which I’ve been enjoying very much. (And thank you so much for sending it.) 🙂
Wow, how sweet of you to say, Marilyn! I’m delighted you’re enjoying it. Looking forward to yours, too!
ha. i hope i am wearing a rain slicker the day we erupt…because that would be quite messy. i like that you give us the unexpected in this marilyn
Thanks, Brian! And yes, a slicker sounds like a great idea. 🙂
Anytime you quote Alice Cooper, you have won me! Cool poem…… but I fear the eruption….
Thanks! I’ll have to challenge myself to drop Alice Cooper lyrics into more poems. 🙂
Good choice….. Alice is not really a shock writer as most think… I always felt that he simply writes about things where most people don’t want to go. “No more Mr. Nice Guy” and “Billion Dollar Babies” are such good examples of that. Hendrix had an incredible repoirtoire too… He was completely blinded by music, almost illeterately so, yet his choice of words in lyrics are some of the most poetic and beautiful in the world….. You can not lose by studying artists like these….. Again, nice read….
Oh, you had me singing! Thank you~
Thanks, Linda! Not sure why it was that particular song, but it popped up and wouldn’t go away.
These are hard memories – I’d be wanting to wash them down the drain – and drown those yellow jackets too!
🙂 I’m sure yellow jackets have an important role in nature, but I find them tough to get along with. Maybe I’ll mentally send them down the drain, too.
Whew…this cuts deep and I love it.
Thank you so much!
Mr Clean is just so meaningful. I cannot stress that enough. His image really brought it all together for me in this truly fine, deep poem.
Best,
Ana
You’re kidding … right? 😉
Regarding the significance of Mr. Clean, I mean. I met him once (or a model playing the role), but I didn’t know anyone else found him meaningful!
But either way, thank you very much, Ana.