Tuesday 2 February 2010

six a.m. sestina for sweetness

a sestina is a highly structured poem consisting of six six-line stanzas followed by a tercet of three lines for a total of thirty-nine lines. The same set of six words ends the lines of each of the six-line stanzas, but in a different order each time. sounds difficult? it is. here's an example:


These are merely pleasantries, yes, sweetness. 
They're okay for those good enough, 
at least decent, good enough get-offs, 
but the myriad pet names, clever and otherwise, 
cutesy, dumb, or 'quaint and curious'— 
the treble in your voice, turn it down. 
I know we met on a kind of down- 
beat sorta day, when that sweetness 
drifting from a baker-mom's curious 
son's steamed wet window was about enough 
to keep a one afloat—a really off 
day. I would have probably caved otherwise. 
I would have had to get all warm and fuzzy otherwise. 
These tendencies I keep tucked way down 
in my insides' (button fly) jeans' 5th pocket boil up,  and off
I go! Just hang on a second, sweetness. 
The getting goes tough then soon enough 
the toughies go to getting gone. Curious 
about all these "I miss you's." A little curious. 
Just a taste. Pencil tip on a tongue and, otherwise 
healthy, just mentally gonzo, I guess. Enough 
"I need to see you's," too. Deeply down 
there somewhere there's a certain sweetness, 
maybe, but I just don't see it. So I'm off. 
I've thrown on some Lizz Wright, so back off 
for a track...Okay, so back to that curious 
way we/you/I/she/they could squeeze the sweetness 
from a kitty cat. I'll go, I mean, otherwise 
I'll stay. It's a whatever kind of down, 
down, down, down day. I think it's broken. 
No, hang on—"enough, enough, enough." I went off. 
I'm sorry. It's this letdown ending part, all curious 
and crushed up, but otherwise touched. (signed) 
Sweetness. 


2 comments:

Lizzard said...

"These tendencies I keep tucked way down/in my insides' (button fly) jeans' 5th pocket boil up, and off/I go!"

Sometimes you write and I feel like I can hear you speaking the words. The above quote is one moment. Great piece. :-)

gigglepeppers said...

Thanks darling. I'm looking at the date you wrote this comment. February 4th...was a very good day.