the ballad of the beartrap
A silhouette of sawback spines
Wisps of storms and dreams alike
Memory winding, surpentine.
23 floors;
a long time to reconsider
the one way street of hearts that wither
elevator sights in passing
a continent ready for glassing
frozen and inert in time
a glimpse of dawn by our design
48 stitches;
scalded and scarred man-made witches
maimed and renamed
reshaped into a willful lamb
stamped and spared and sent along
where faith has failed will make me strong
99 loves;
every shade of ease wrought
leaping each by each
upon the swords that shepherds' brought
to rest here upon the breath
faux fever and mania
stretching out the many days
clasping hands and dire teeth
finding embrace through all the haze
selfless doubt, tired boots and lies
slain aloof by pretty eyes
and words:
our bodies cobbled underfoot
our minds remain assured
99 lives;
more machine than man
marching fro: one peggled footstep on
spiked and spurred, collectively
dragged out across history,
forward onto dawn.
a nameless cause like novacaine
blistered thunder in my veins
looks like hate, tastes like home
backpacking the fall of rome
Faded spotted circus stripes
clowns cut down to men
tidal pools of polar strife
by moonlight we begin again
living on thru rust and ruin
long enough to be the mirror
the villain, vulture, and the hero
everybody bleeds red
Laura Taylor
Wed 9th Sep 2015 11:54
There are some amazing lines and phrases in this, agreed. I have no bloody idea what's going on, like, but maybe the point is to be surreal. And maybe the use of non-linearity juxtaposed with the accepted understanding of a ballad as linear is an extra dose of clever on the top? Or maybe YOU think it's linear as f*ck and I just don't see it - it has been known :D
Anyway, I enjoyed reading it. Probably pays to read it a few more times too.