A toast for the empty glass…
the swill of optimism flooding
the back of my throat
to water down sarcasm.
Reduced to a moment’s purr
I plant my chin on the bright sunny
and catnap on warm fuzzies.
Before I slip too far into escape
umbrella lemons test the tightrope
my mind walks to see how much rope
they can walk before they trigger
the last straw.
In the background Pandora’s clock
taunts hell’s picnic is still messy
and I’m the assigned joker with a mop.
Like an automaton I stir in my rewinding,
stare at my empty glass, and wonder
how much work it will take
to portray Eris’s chaos as comedy.
©Susie Clevenger 2021
Eris (Ερις) is the goddess of discord and strife.
So many great lines in this Susie. I can relate to the sentiments and especially "I am the assigned joker with a mop" I think being to tell the truth even when it is darker than we care for is a brilliant thing. So glad you joined us my friend! I hope the week ahead is filled with poetry and simple pleasures of life.
ReplyDeleteI love ‘first person’ poems! This one made me want to join you at the bar .. pour two glasses of optimism and kick sarcasm to the curb. Cheers.
ReplyDeleteThat last stanza kind of sums up how I feel right now, too, Susie. What is going on with this production--we're up here on stage with our mops while the playwright has committed suicide and the director's in his office harassing starlets. You manage to give us both a sense of optimism and fatigue here, and I think that says a lot about where this poem comes from. Enjoyed it very much.
ReplyDeleteI want to join you and Helen, so let's order a third glass of optimism. I'm certainly all for that
ReplyDeleteLoved all of this - may the cellar always have plenty of vintage optimism.
ReplyDelete"A toast for the empty glass…
ReplyDeletethe swill of optimism flooding
the back of my throat
to water down sarcasm."
loved that first stanza, and with your ends made for a nice frame around the madness... well done!