Tag: Komunyakaa

In Costa Rica

Posted on by Meryl in Poetry

I took this photo yesterday in Manuel Antonio National Park, and then found this poem by Yuseff Komunyakaa.

Sloth

If you’re one of seven
Downfalls, up in your kingdom
Of mulberry leaves, there are men
Betting you aren’t worth a bullet,

That your skin won’t tan into a good
Wallet. As if drugged in the womb
& limboed in a honeyed languor,
By the time you open your eyes

A thousand species have lived
& died. Born on a Sunday
Morning, with old-world algae
In your long hair, a goodness

Disguised your two-toed claws
Bright as flensing knives. In this
Upside-down haven, you’re reincarnated
As a fallen angel trying to go home.

 

No more Dactyls-and-Drakes

Posted on by Meryl in Poetry

For several years now, the “real” name of this blog has been www.MerylNatchez.com.  I kept Dacytls-and-Drakes, the original title, alive. But when it came time to renew this year, I decided to let it go.  This may mean if you are a long-time subscriber, you need to resubscribe–I’m not sure.  But it won’t hurt…

And here’s your Monday poetry vitamin. As is often the case, the ending is my favorite part, though the title is hard to beat, too.

Ode to the Maggot

Brother of the blowfly
& godhead, you work magic
Over battlefields,
In slabs of bad pork

& flophouses. Yes, you
Go to the root of all things.
You are sound & mathematical.
Jesus Christ, you’re merciless

With the truth. Ontological & lustrous,
You cast spells on beggars & kings
Behind the stone door of Caesar’s tomb
Or split trench in a field of ragweed.

No decree or creed can outlaw you
As you take every living thing apart. Little
Master of earth, no one gets to heaven
Without going through you first.

Yusef Komunyakaa