Notes From The Ward
John Jessup Kennan 1953 (Pomona)
angels came, ministered
strapped me to this table
or maybe it was a cot
i don't remember
it's so hard to remember
since treatment was executed
i should say performed
the aroma of crocodile stew
filled nostril and lung
but not belly
we feed intravenously
a special thanks to
the charwoman for
removing life
and limb
they wore alligator helmets
not the angels
anaconda snakeskin boots
campfire cauldrons
scented the air with promises
through bars in windows
angels sing and chant
in latex scrubs emotionless
gregorian chant eaters
we are your womb
spokesmodel for
royal order of the
protectorate
says encampment
firepits
contain the very fires of hell
scent of dissent is rising
he doesn't like the way it smells
It reeks of purgatorial unrest
we are the unhuddled masses
of our own teeming shores
meeting request
met
bridge forever drawn
in sacrificial moat below
gargoyle station
pirhana feed on
scraps of fetus at dawn
high on protein they are
dawn begins at midnight here
torches scent the air with
kersosene obscenities
gargoyles smirk down
at visitors from humvees
sound cannons attached
soundless
used with greater and
greater
frequency
statistical analysis
screws numbers into margins
tell us the more we eat
the more we lose in the bargain
go ahead
break the restraints
strangle the angels
saw through the bars
swim the moat
feast on pirhana
just before your heads
explode like watermelons
at a gallagher show
with greater
frequency
cannons sound
reason is sound
soundless is sound
healing in the key
of tesla warriors
sword is obsolete
gun is obsolete
missile is obsolete
warrior is obsolete
land is healed
without shield
scarred deformed
pax euraxicana
stay in your homes
await instruction
spokesmodel
celebrates
freedom with a bash
at the castle
spontaneously
dramatically snatches
tiki torch from
smirking gargoyle
swallows it
pulls it out
belches smoke
theatrically
in big top fashion
crowds cheer wildly
enthusiastically
spokesmodel grins
but it is meaningless
spokesmodel is always
grinning
irresistably gleaming
fangs filed to resemble
teeth more human
he is one of us
a spokesmodel of
the people
the dazzling sparkle of
smile hypnotic
temple sleepers
set frequencies on your
channels
to artificial cheese steroids and
insemination
watchers watch voxxers vox
lux lex lux rex
unto you this day
a beastie is born
just look at those
symmetrically perfect
horns
gargoyle radar red alert
swivels
toward the hearth teutonic
a rift? -- nay!
merely a gaggle
of lesbonics
mischieving on the staff
notching on the calf
laugh
carve me a slice of
fleshy fresh-sliced
inner thigh willya
disaffected by campires in encampments
pots of crocodile gumbo
scenting the breeze
alligator warriors fell
crocodile soldiers too and
anaconda
snipers but pirhana serve
full term
stay in your homes
watch the spokesmodel bash
stay tuned
film in the rearview mirror
film in eternity
bella adjusts her
alligator helmet
and goggles
laces her anaconda
snakesssskin battle boots
with a mocking hisssss
grins
but it is meaningless
bella is always
grinning
let's go find those
pearly golden
gates
she laughs but it is
meaningless bella
is always laughing
all seeing eye
fractal
thousand tentacles each
with its own
all seeing eye
eyeing all
other all seeing eyes
suspiciously
watch watchers watching
voxxers vox
lexxers rexless rexxers unlex
luxxers lex rex
mount splits
light straddles great
chasm
a rift? -- yea, verily
time
has come here
to cease
© John Kennan 3-25-20
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Submitted by rankstranger7 on May 24, 2021
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 2:50 min read
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Quick analysis:
Scheme | abaccaaaxddaexxfghfijafkx elaafmnxaix aaopqxoxrxsxsafacD tuaqaxgxaoxupcD aaadkaaaaaaaoVq bwxbdyzxaaxdqdd1 t2 nnbqt3 b3 4 kegaq5 6 axjax ag4 xbf7 7 7 3 a8 xps maaxxVxAca cagaHf1 T2 njqwyln 8 bxx8 xxdn5 f6 xazb xrx q |
---|---|
Closest metre | Iambic dimeter |
Characters | 3,304 |
Words | 563 |
Stanzas | 13 |
Stanza Lengths | 25, 11, 18, 15, 15, 39, 15, 10, 16, 12, 4, 3, 1 |
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"Notes From The Ward" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 14 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/100833/notes-from-the-ward>.
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