Angela's Third Time's a Charm Thread

[Angela]

22) College Credit

Blank puzzle pieces
make satisfactory kindling—
my privilege to burn

[Angela]

23) Whirligig

When she's feeling
deserted, she won't tell you.
She'll cocoon up and peel
the skin of her lips
with her teeth. She'll nip
the chocolate off
snickers bars, stab her ears
with shards of metal— She'll

stitch her heart
and spin the sutured meat
on the blunt end
of a needle.

[Dunc]

Angela

Lemontide - is just like moontide except no sea. ('coconut scented hair' - right.) As for falling flat, no, the concepts have a life, a direction, of their own.

From Gravlax to Gravitas - Most enjoyable walk to buy the salmon roe smoked and scented. Seems to be a note of hostility towards the beef, but wow, I didn't see that finale coming! Very - er - striking.

College Credit - Ah, I think I see. A good fire can be a great outlet.

Whirligig - A powerful description, that one, as the emotion rises through the lines to the surface in your vivid S2. Keep that one.

Regards / Dunc

[kristalynn]

Good, raw stuff in Whirligig. There's power in the strange things "she" does. The "sutured meat" bothers me, which is a good thing.

[Angela]

Thank you, Dunc and kristalynn. You are on my list. I will get to you before the end!

24) Headline: BDSM Entrepreneur Hawks Notions!

The ad reads as follows:

Come one! Come all!
Welcome to the Grand Opening of our newest shop!

The Naughty Zipper

We've got hooks, eyes and loops,
Talon snaps and grippers— the slimmer,
smoother, smarter non-metallic zipper.
We've got your man-

sized, premade, cotton fiber collars. We have
ric-rac, grosgrain, sequins, foam and rubber—
calico, velveteen, satin, silk and feathers.
We offer hem facing, corded piping, flannel,
suede and leather. We like gingham and gossamer,
taffeta, tulle and linen. (Spandex is only measured
out by special permission.)

For the vintage button lover:
we carry Bakelite, Lucite, antler, bone
and silver. There are cellulose cameos and gilt-
capped thimbles—

Our thread has the ultimate tensile strength
and our needles are always surgical steel. We favor
luxury yarn and stock only the best chenille.
(and safety scissors) Our fabrics are washable,
dryable, ironable and dry cleanable.
They are also breathable.

We would love it if you would stop by and take
our weighted, bonded and insured
color wheel for a spin. Our hues are color-matched
and range from
xxxxxxxxxxxxxSSShades-of-a-bruise to Sparkling Sin.

[JFN]

Angela, glad I got back here before the end.

I love how Self-Portrait falls apart towards the close. Very fun.

The repeating sounds and constant pauses carry Freak along to the satisfying close (I'm going to steal zenith for the next time I write one of these).

Your description of a well used Butter Mold is pleasing. sanctified is a nice choice, but I also prefer the slanted rays of no. 2.

Another cat skeptic. Glad I'm not the only one. This had me laughing. The little internal rhymes and slant rhymes work very well.

Ten Minutes... is a dark whirlwind tour of some fascinating characters. Good crazy portraits.

I'm going to have to get me some sourdough now. That made me hungry.

I can truly associate with Why Cleaning.... The way the thoughts develop through the poem is so natural, and it ends with that increased worry really well.

Butchering the Blues is another great journey into the mind and memory. It's a nice telling of a relationship, and the ending is open to interpretation.

...Damaged Psyche clearly relates to the previous poem. The focus on hands is a great tool. The list deteriorates quickly from the seemingly innocuous to the more disturbing lack of parenting. Really well done.

Peach Picking is a delightful retort to the previous poem. The tenderness and love is clear from beginning to end.

Sick of You is snarky in the best of ways. All those little rhymes lift it up a notch too.

It's an interesting approach to list the things N can't hear, and it works well. The attention to detail I things like the nibbled cuticles, and the end make this.

The ...bitter salad haiku leaves me in mind of dew misting off a meadow on a sunny morning. A pretty image.

The idea of a blown kiss falling flat due to the lack of wind is inspired.

From Gravlax... is a trip for the taste buds, from seafood to prairie to that disgusting peanut butter at the end (oh, and the jelly, mmmm).

Are you burning debt records as well? satisfactory privilege is about right.

Again, the focus on the small details in Whirligig make
the bigger picture. Those teeth peeled lips are sublime.

The list in The Naughty Zipper is much fun. The colour range at the end is hilarious.

Glad to have read these. Nearly there.

John

[Dunc]

Angela

Headline - What a fine romp through the Naughty Zipper. Like your linkings with internal rhymes, and your lists roll with fine sonics and humour. Nice work!

Regards / Dunc

[Angela]

Thank you, John and Dunc! I don't know how you two do it! I am running so late! Gaaa!

25) Remembering Grandma Sally

He was running trunk lines
with wildcat whiskey— made pure
with the flush of spring fed milk
and money— I was seventeen
when I came upon him. I had big brown eyes
and a friendly body— I turned that boy
to jelly. I remember the day

because grandma was teaching me
how to preserve— she had already taught me
how to pickle pig's feet and slow smoke
river herring. She loved to babble on about
Hansel and Gretel's witch. She loved
the old enchantress and worried she had a touch
of gout. I always said, no doubt
it was all the rich meat she put up.
Grandma always nodded
just like she always put a flourish on the label
of every mason jar we squirreled away.

[Angela]

This wants to become something, I think.

26) Voodoo Sally

They found Sally's doll—
cotton-faced and splintered mouth—
tacked to the door of the sluice-gate house.

[Donner]

Hi, Angela,

"Whirligig" - Sounds like her heart has been stitched and restitched multiple times. I like how S1 details her actions and S2 does that metaphorically.

"Headline" - Now that's fun. I didn't make the connection at first between the title and the underlined name of the shop. You might want to not want to separate "The Naughty Zipper" out to integrate it more into the poem. (But that could just be my slow self talking.) I like that spandex needs permission to be measured and that the scissors are safe (words).

"Remembering Grandma Sally" - S1 and S2 could each be a poem on their own, S1 seems to be a footnote with the mason jars filled with moonshine and pigs feet being the connection between the two. A suggestion - make that connection as strong as the writing in each.

"Voodoo Sally" - That's just eerie. Is this Sally the same as Grandma Sally with her talk about Hansel and Gretel and witches? If so, that could be a clue that you need in the previous one.

Donner

[Angela]

Thank you so much, Donner!

27) This custom poem creates space

for you. It blurs the lines
and embraces you. It'll dabble in blood
and compose spells for you— take
a crabbed wing and fuse it to a jelly bean
or a lock of hair or two— It'll apply
classic rock or opera— your preferred genre—
scat, dub-

step: beatbox— whatever you crave—
It'll rave with you. It's synthesized
and it's homegrown dope.

[Angela]

28) Making a pot of Cullen skink

isn't as involved as making a pot
of Cock-a-leekie, unless you go
the Finnan haddie route.
To be authentic,

you should learn to fish the lochs
and smoke the waters' losses
in the vicinity of peat bogs.
Did you know you need the luxury
of triple cream in chowder?

The chicken soup is another matter,
entirely. The stock is clarified.
Call it a consommé— if you like—
and don't worry, we are still doing it
the Scots' way,

even if we are using fancy French words
like mireproix and bouquet garni.

[Angela]

29) The penultimate poem

is second to last, I mean to say it is second
to none. It wears a platinum and diamond
studded shock collar and it triggers you
because it voted for Trump. It rocks
the cliché and it really doesn't give a fuck
who is reading it. It's been spackled
and primed, shellacked and spit-shined—

it's being presented to you for payment.

[Dunc]

Angela

Remembering Grandma Sally - nice reversal, remembering the boy because of the cooking lesson! Hansel and Gretel, eh? - worrying about the old cannibal's gout seems rather misplaced, but I guess you had to be there. Curious memoir but not at all dull.

Voodoo Sally - Interesting start to something, as you say.

This custom poem creates space - a truly useful poem, then, one to keep in the laundry near the dope chemicals. There must be a thousand uses for a winged jelly-bean ...

Making a pot of Cullen skink - haddock, peat smoke, very promising. It's been a while since I was near Cullen, though. (Meanwhile, bless the Caithness Vikings for naming a town Scrabster - sounds like a rich seafood soup too.)

The penultimate poem - wonderful! Except for the Trump bit, for which the gods of poetry will punish it. But as for payment, hey, you don't us a thing! And, no offence, I'd look silly taking a poem in a diamond-studded shock collar for a walk.

One green bottle.

Regards / Dunc

[Angela]

Whew! I am all in with 15 minutes to spare! Congrats to everyone on crossing the finish line. I need to get laid and I need a beer.

Thank you for swinging back around, Dunc! Thank you to everyone who came by and fluffed me. I plan on sticking around and giving back for a day or three. See you on the flip side!

...and now for number 30. Voila!

30) Truffle Hunting

I was pretty iffy when I read
about trufficulture— something
about inoculating trees
is kinda sci-fi
and using the word Truffière
sounds so condescending.
I heard the snout of hound or pig
is handy for sniffing out
this subterranean treasure
and I wouldn't be timid
if I were to go nomadic—
I know enough about truffle hunting
to know truffles don't spring forth
from the roots of a corpse flower
or the belly
of a stinking triffid.