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Two Winged Entities Walked Into a Bar . . . , a poem by Clarissa Simmens

Illustration courtesy of The British Museum via Unsplash

“…whenever a new, especially successful form of an infection emerges, it will spread rapidly around the globe.”  William H. McNeill, Plagues and Peoples

The current pandemic is a disquieting influence, but an influence it is. COVID-19 is inspiring dreams that are wishful, fearful, and often surreal. Such is Clarissa’s dream reported in this poem. It reflects the yearning, anxiety, and concern we all feel and, not unlike our experience of this pandemic, it contains elements of the surreal.  / J.D.

DREAMING:

Two wings touching
Dark and light
Not very opposite
Never did they fight

The archangels Raphael and Lucifer

Walked into a bar together

Both ordered Southern Comfort Rocks

Needing respite from frantic Root Workers

Overworked simplers and herbalists

Calling upon Raphael for assistance

In the healing of an ailing global populace

While Lucifer himself was busy with

Contracts multiplying each day

Contracts from desperate parents

Willing to pay anything

As long as their child lived

Giving him no pleasure because of

The sheer volume of sad work

They drank deeply and then

Lucifer asked:

“As a healer, what do you think about me

Getting my tail surgically removed?

It’s an old image I want to escape

Along with the pitchfork. I mean, come on,

That old agrarian image just won’t work

I’m thinking of a taser or AK-47

Although I have no desire to harm anyone”

Raphael sighed and said,

“Not wise to go into the hospital during a pandemic

Who do you have in mind to do the cosmetic altering?”

“You, of course. Your power is stronger than mine…”

“You, the demiurge,” laughed Raphael

“Controlling the material world.

Not much different than I am”

Answered Lucifer, “They confuse me

With cousin Satan

I should stop working for him

Hate contract law”

AWAKE:

Gasping aloud and peering into the

Six o’clock dawn

Me, not a dreamer

At least when sleeping

Has dreamt the beginning of a joke

But glad I awoke

Because I’ve been living with

Raphael’s name for the last month

Lighting white candles

Looking for iron fish charms

Asking his help

In keeping us all alive

But in the dream

Are wings of cream and gray

Friends despite what we’ve learned

And I wonder

About this scenario

About the jokey dialogue

What dreams are these?

Two wings touching
Dark and light
Dream interpretation
Bouncing off daylight…

© 2020, Clarissa Simmens

CLARISSA SIMMENS (Poeturja) is an independent poet; Romani drabarni (herbalist/advisor); ukulele and guitar player; wannabe song writer; and music addict. Favorite music genres include Classic Rock, Folk, Romani (Gypsy), and Cajun with an emphasis on guitar and violin music mainly in a Minor key. Find her on her Amazon Author Page, on her blog, and on Facebook HERE.

Clarissa’s books include: Chording the Cards & Other Poems, Plastic Lawn Flamingos & Other Poems, and Blogetressa, Shambolic Poetry.

Jamie Dedes:

Your donation HERE helps to fund the ongoing mission of The Poet by Day in support of poets and writers, freedom of artistic expression, and human rights.

Poetry rocks the world!

FEEL THE BERN

For Peace, Sustainability, Social Justice

Maintain the movement.

“Democracy is not a spectator sport.” Bernie Sanders

“Every pair of eyes facing you has probably experienced something you could not endure.”  Lucille Clifton

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quiet time

From Gretchen Del Rio: Wisdom for any day but especially welcome in the Time of COVID-19.

Gretchen Del Rio's Art Blog

watercolor 5/2020

“Just slow down.
Slow down your speech.
Slow down your breathing.
Slow down your walking.
Slow down your eating.
And let this slower, steadier
pace perfume your mind.
Just slow down…”

……….Doko

purchase this painting

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Some fun with English vocabulary . . .

Photograph courtesy of Brett Jordan, Unsplash

“The Greek word for “return” is nostos. Algos means “suffering.” So nostalgia is the suffering caused by an unappeased yearning to return.”  Milan Kundera, Ignorance

Courtesy of Inklings Bookstore, Facebook Page; I think it might have originated with Icegate Magazine; and thanks to Anjum Wasim Dar (Poetic Oceans) for bringing this to my attention.

RELATED:

Jamie Dedes:

Your donation HERE helps to fund the ongoing mission of The Poet by Day in support of poets and writers, freedom of artistic expression, and human rights.

Poetry rocks the world!

FEEL THE BERN

For Peace, Sustainability, Social Justice

Maintain the movement.

“Democracy is not a spectator sport.” Bernie Sanders

“Every pair of eyes facing you has probably experienced something you could not endure.”  Lucille Clifton

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remembrance, a poem . . . and your next Wednesday Writing Prompt

Photograph courtesy of Bill Johnson under CC SA 3.0  license

“The mountains were so wild and so stark and so very beautiful that I wanted to cry.” Jane Wilson-Howarth, Snow-fed Waters

there has always been the wind and on that day
it was pewter, playing tag with afternoon clouds,
but dawn was as clear as window glass and
the distant Sangre de Cristo Mountains were
the lost backdrop to my old cellular visions and
the subject of fine artists, though none to be seen

galleries were hung with signs “gone fishing,”
so we sat on a rough bench to eat our churros,
held mugs of champurrado, sweet and foamy,
stayed to see the sun setting at that far point
were the trees appear sparse and the highest
peaks showed themselves, symbols of promise

we waited to see the earth curl around sky’s
soft edge, somewhere a well-traveled sagebrush
burst into a flaming sunset and dusted it with our
remembrance of time before time measured

© 2019, poem, Jamie Dedes 

WEDNESDAY WRITING PROMPT

There are some places that inspire a sense of connection with primeval roots, almost a mystical sense, such as the one I experienced when my husband and I visited New Mexico years ago. Share such experiences you’ve had with us in your own poem/s and

  • please submit your poem/s by pasting them into the comments section and not by sharing a link
  • please submit poems only, no photos, illustrations, essays, stories, or other prose

PLEASE NOTE:

Poems submitted on theme in the comments section here will be published in next Tuesday’s collection. Poems submitted through email or Facebook will not be published. If you are new to The Poet by Day, Wednesday Writing Prompt, be sure to include a link to your website, blog, and/or Amazon page to be published along with your poem. Thank you!

Deadline:  Monday, June 1 by 8 pm Pacific Time. If you are unsure when that would be in your time zone, check The Time Zone Converter.

Anyone may take part Wednesday Writing Prompt, no matter the status of your career: novice, emerging or pro.  It’s about exercising the poetic muscle, showcasing your work, and getting to know other poets who might be new to you.

You are welcome – encouraged – to share your poems in a language other than English but please accompany it with a translation into English.

Jamie Dedes:

Your donation HERE helps to fund the ongoing mission of The Poet by Day in support of poets and writers, freedom of artistic expression, and human rights.

Poetry rocks the world!

FEEL THE BERN

For Peace, Sustainability, Social Justice

Maintain the movement.

“Democracy is not a spectator sport.” Bernie Sanders

“Every pair of eyes facing you has probably experienced something you could not endure.”  Lucille Clifton