The Geist Jackpine Sonnet Contest is is underway and to make things interesting Geist is posting some of the submissions for you to read and comment on. Each poem will be posted anonymously (but with permission from the authors) and comments on the poem will not be considered in the judging. Remember, contest closes July 1st, so get writing!
The Escape
He knew the moment he saw her that his life
Was broken, wrecked, disintegrated, and not
That he even wanted—now—a girl, a wife,
Inamorata, nymph, or anything, but what he got
In one calescent glance would shred and fuel
His fragile quietude into a cartography
Of stalled pursuits and spirals, a frantic duel
With his imagination and her eventual cruelty.
He could turn and go. He could get on his bike
And spin around the corner, pedal, disappear
Before she fully saw that she could strike
A shattering wound on the apparently austere
Composure of his face. Too late. She knew
And smiled a little, swinging just a step
Toward him; then, as he fully understood just who
She was, and what she’d do to him, he schlepped
His bike into oncoming traffic, and was gone.
Comments (2)
Comment FeedPowerful imagery, wonderfully
Anonymous more than 12 years ago
I like it. Better than the
Anonymous more than 13 years ago