Thursday, October 27, 2022

Silk Tongue Order of Discord

 


She is queen bitch,
a dark storyteller who
plucks words from
a coffee-stained alphabet
that makes pretty sound
like it has fangs and crows are
lullaby saints of midnight cradles.

A poised midwife of birthing mordacity
she sings mockingbird hymns
to narcissists whose self-absorption
has no skill in the discernment of mockery.

Sister Eris, of the Silk Tongue Order of Discord,
has a pharmacy of ironic elixirs, drivel of headlines,
and bombastic bloat, to anethestize sheep
so they will remain oblivious their promised future
is being built from recycled failure of the past.

©Susie Clevenger 2022

Shay's Word Garden List ~ Susie Clevenger

8 comments:

  1. Lullaby saints of midnight cradles, goodness that's fine writing. This poem aims straight at the heart of Make America Gross Again nation and hits center target.

    Btw I had a poem up for this, on the same subject, but took it down to work on some more.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I noted the same lines Shay quoted. Stellar writing, Susie. Speaking Truth. Those closing lines drive the point home.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I like the way this poem juxtaposes words in dense groups which are packed with attitude and meaning. The picture it gives of the central character is a mirror of the state of our polity in general, and the growing toxicity of the discussion around it. Really an excellent, biting piece, Susie.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Caustic imagery of a caustic political climate, where speech is a "queen bitch" and we are invited into her alluring narcissism and bombast as "anesthetized sheep." Brilliant as always, Susie.

    ReplyDelete
  5. These gorgeous lines are sharp like a knife my friend! Words hold power in so many ways, and this captures the dark and light side of it brilliantly! I am so glad you were featured at Shay's Word List!

    ReplyDelete
  6. "words from / a coffee-stained alphabet" is terrific!

    ReplyDelete
  7. This is such a powerful poem, Susie, scathingly honest in a way I love. I understand the queen bitch from the off and marvel at her bravery to speak her mind and blaze a trail. I love the second stanza especially. The last two lines of the third stanza have such a wisdom about them also shrouded in sorrow which is thought-provoking <3

    ReplyDelete