Crumbles

Baudelaire (why is it always Baudelaire?)
sat near the window to write fortune cookie scripts.
(Even flâneurs and boulevardiers need
extra absinthe boodle).

He’d done well with his bumper sticker:
“Honk if you love Jesus!”
but inspiration is lightning
that doesn’t strike twice.

Today he struggles:
“The fox covers itself with the scent of lilies,
its soul an ethereal fire, the rhythm of shadows.”
No, no, that will not do.

“Weeds and wildflowers both die
with the language of silent things on their tongues.”
again, no, he scrapes the palimpsest –
ghost words haunt the page.

How will he release the pieties, the taboos
of General Gau’s chicken?
The dark wishes
stirring in a pot of wonton soup?

For Shay’s Word Garden Word List

For Ruby Tuesday prompts

17 thoughts on “Crumbles

  1. So ridiculous but so appealing. Why IS it always Baudelaire???

    Have you ever seen a movie called “The Hudsucker Proxy”? The guy–a stooge placed in charge of a big company so that he’ll fail–invents the hoola-hoop and it’s a smash, but he then has trouble following up with any second idea, much like your Baudelaire.

    This whole piece is hilarious, but it was the General Gau’s chicken that sent me over the edge into giggle fits. What a genius concoction of absurdity and satire. I’ll have the frog legs.

    Liked by 2 people

  2. qbit, I really like how this piece of yours blends the essence of Baudelaire’s poetic struggle with more contemporary imagery like fortune cookie scripts and bumper stickers. Nicely done, sir! ❤

    Sincerely,
    David

    Liked by 3 people

  3. this is wonderful! I love what he abandons. Such a cool concept… a poem of Abandoned poetry. This is abigfatcanofworms from outofthecave.blog. my phone isn’t letting me log in.

    Liked by 1 person

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