Saturday, June 22, 2013

MANUEL




Manuel prefers the streets.
So he says, then admits
his wife kicked him out
due to circumstances beyond control.
What can a man do when a cute young thing
offers her distress for him to save?

She played the flute,
then told the truth, hoping
she could keep him.
But everything has a price.
The piper got paid.

Now, most of his time is spent
on a kite way up high,
ingesting stuff even dogs reject,
because they know how sick they get
when they stray,
eat mana from heaven that's really from hell,
or follow wolves disguised.

Manuel loves to wet his whistle.
Doesn't feel the trickle
that wets him behind the ears
deafening the call of true manhood.

Some time ago, he hooked a woman
who hooks many worms herself.
Together, they bang up life
not realizing living is a job.
Hand to mouth they survive,
distorting the wisdom of,
one day at a time.
At night, they make their bed
under a bridge
and lie.

(Today at Dverse Poets Kelvin has us using idioms.  I split mine up a bit and dispersed them throughout.)



15 comments:

  1. Very clever use of idioms, Myrna. I really like the ending....where they make their bed and lie! Smiles. They will probably continue on until they are over the hill and then pass the buck to someone else..... And that's straight from the horse's mouth!!

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  2. she played the flute then told the truth...oh my....ha....likes to wet his whistle too...better watch himself out there on the streets as well...might get into even more trouble...ha...great fun myrna

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  3. Nice story told through the idioms!

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  4. oh i love this myrna - love how you just tell us about him - wondering if you really met him and if he told you his story - tough - sometimes life just develops in a certain way and one thing comes to the next

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  5. Great use of more idioms than I can count..especially liked the second stanza... smiles

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  6. Quite a complex and meaningful work, M !


    Aloha

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  7. What a sad existence. I hope he gets help soon.

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  8. Guess we all have to make our beds & lie on it ~ Enjoyed the retelling Myrna ~

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  9. I hope it's not autobiographical!

    I don't know much about dogs' relationships with liquor. Long ago, I gave a dog with a twitch 30ccs of 151 proof. He passed out but kept the twitch even then. A couple of hours later, he jumped up and didn't even appear to have a hangover. Birds sometimes get drunk on mulberries, and pigs are inordinately fond of mash--as are men are fond of drink, drugs, and women, and I've had my share of each so it's not something I can very well lecture upon.

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  10. ...ah, this has a very sad turn in the end that volumes reality Myrna... you have served us / the world a rich lesson thru your poetry... a very good piece of awakening for everyone & the youth most especially... wetting your whistle is not bad but it has to be done right... excellent write... smiles...

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  11. Love it Myrna! Guys like that around can be quite prickly! It'll solve itself I suppose!

    Hank

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  12. Wow, Myrna, reading about lives like those makes me appreciate my cozy room, tonight. It always amazes me, the difficult lives people live, thinking they are having a good time.

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  13. Idiomatic awesomeness! Great writing here. I do wonder what circumstances caused his wife to kick him out. The mind reels... -Mike

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  14. I loved this ".. they bang up life not realizing living is a job". Great piece of writing, Myrna.

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  15. Sad was it not? Deep thought there.

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