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Tom Arnone Poem
Go ahead, you freaking coward, I thought. You drove all this way, with your new 6" GPS. Now you’re a bowl of jello who can't ring a bell? I took a deep breath and pushed the buzzer ... nothing. I knocked, softly. The door opened, slowly....
"Joey Sliwa?" a voice said.
It felt good to be recognized after thirty-five years. "Yes, Lana?" I said, smiling, questioning. A touch on the arm and an awkward hug. She led me into a medium-sized living room with two, white-as-snow Shih Tzu puppies.
Sitting on a plush, microfiber couch with coffee and a baker's box of pastries. I was so drawn to this woman, I had to force myself to move away.... The dogs sat up. Their attentive stares were ... disconcerting.
"I can't believe I'm here," I said. "I never would have come without calling -- but, your number was disconnected and you stopped communicating on your Facebook page."
"I'm flattered you were so concerned. You do know I have MS, right?"
"Yes, of course. I figured it might be something like that. I guess ... I wanted to see you one last time before I dropped dead," I said, with a half-smile. Our fingers touched and, yes, there were sparks.
"How are your kids doing," I inquired.
"Both grown and out of the house. They're always badgering me to come live with them." She seemed lost in thought ... for a moment.
"And, Bob. You never told me. What happened to Bob?"
"I don't want to talk about him," she said. "He was abusive and a terrible father. That's all I'm going to say -- for now."
I moved closer and put my arm around her. She didn't pull away. "Lana, you don't have to explain anything. I'm here to visit my old friend, who I love very much." There were tears in her eyes.
"You know, Joey, we can never be," she said.
The Shih Tzus' white-as-snow fur was no longer so white. I felt a pain, and I was frozen in place.
"Joey. What's wrong? Can I help you?" I heard her speak.
"Can I help you? Sir, do you need help?" The voice of a young man. "Dina, call 911."
I opened my eyes. My arm was outstretched, trying to press the buzzer. There were people around me who I didn't recognize. "I was looking for Lana," I stuttered. "Lana White?" The good-looking kid with the Burt Reynold's moustache took notice when I repeated her name.
"Who are you?" he asked.
"My name is Joey Sliwa. I was friends with your mother many years ago. We recently connected again on Facebook," I said. "And, you're her son, Daniel. I saw pictures." I felt a tightening in my chest.
"My sister called for help. They'll be here, shortly," said, Daniel. He ran back into the house. There were neighbors gathered around.
A teenage girl who was listening to the conversation sat next to me. "Lana passed away three months ago. It was in all the papers. And, it was a week before her body was discovered. They found Goo and Princess eating parts of her body. It was just too horrible," she said.
One of the neighbors screamed at her: "Gigi, get the hell out of here. You're father's going to hear about this. This man is in no condition to hear that shit!" Gigi quickly left my side.
The ambulance arrived and they lifted me onto the stretcher. The last face I saw was Lana's daughter, Dina. It was uncanny the resemblance to her mother. I felt light-headed from the oxygen. The cold ambulance air-conditioning made me think of brisk autumn winds. I knew, if I closed my eyes now, I would be back in the living room with Lana. So, I did close my eyes, for the last time....
Copyright © Tom Arnone | Year Posted 2016
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Tom Arnone Poem
(Created using the bAbBlE sentence generator, various text excerpts, and a minuscule bit of human editing.)
And she smells good without keeping all ...
Beef, sitting lonely on that lies floating on the tufted floor. "Surely," I was napping, cold noodles, I implore!
But the Raven, "Nevermore."
Deep into that darkness peering, I got enough trouble.
Boy, the whole world together. Eagerly I guess dirt is what thy worldly name is on the tufted floor.
Taken from the night thinking. Eagerly I sat engaged in guessing, when, I'm supposed to spend the lamp-light gloating o'er, She shall press, "Nevermore."
This I sat engaged in guessing, but no syllable expressing To the fowl whose foot-falls tinkled on the floor; And my soul grew stronger; hesitating then he fluttered - Till the dirges of evil! - prophet still, hot noodles with seeing bird above my heart be still is there balm in Gilead? - here I scarcely more than muttered, sitting lonely on that placid bust, chicken guts!
Beef, while I pondered, shrimp with garlic sauce, and the silken, Though its answer little meaning - little relevancy bore; hesitating then no longer, "Nevermore."
Beef, yet all undaunted, nearly napping, and sour chicken, dreaming dreams no mortal ever dared to take out, "Though thy crest be shorn and mighty truck load of prehistoric swamp mud! Take thy form from off my door!" Quoth the Raven, lemon chicken with fantastic terrors never felt before. Then the bird said, beef with fantastic terrors never felt before; But the morrow he will leave me burning, curry sauce, crispy noodles, all my soul within me burning, roast pork, pepper steak and sour combination, "Nevermore."
But the Raven, "Or Madam, truly your forgiveness I implore!" Quoth the morrow; - Some late visitor entreating entrance at my chamber of flea-bitten bug ridden throng of flatulent sewage! - prophet still, if bird or white rice, chicken guts! Take out, but no syllable expressing To the fowl whose fiery eyes now burnt into my bosom's core; This and more I sat engaged in guessing, but no syllable expressing To the fowl whose fiery eyes now burnt into my bosom's core; This and more I sat engaged in guessing, curry beef lo mein, shrimp egg foo young, roast pork with my head at my chamber of contaminated cigar butts!
The Raven, "Nevermore."
Beef with broccoli and nothing more.
"Prophet!" said I, "Tapping at my chamber of pureed monkey mucus! - prophet still, if bird or steamed dumplings, stir fried rice noodles, beef with chili sauce, fried or steamed white rice, perfumed from an erratic horde of his Hope that melancholy burden bore - Till I said, Doubtless," said I, "Sir," said I, "Art sure I heard a tapping, still is sitting, still is sitting On the pallid bust of septic frog water!"
Beef with many quaint and mighty dipstick of Pallas just above my chamber door, "Nevermore."
Beef Szechuan style, but no syllable expressing To the fowl whose fiery eyes have all the seeming of a demon's that is dreaming, And the only word, anniversaries, roast pork with onions and spicy beef egg foo young, all the seeming of seething pus! By that Heaven that bends above his chamber of soggy camel snot!
Ah, Bar-B-Q pork with fantastic terrors never felt before; So that now to take out my heart be still the beating of my heart be still a moment, and nothing more!
Beef with sorrow for the lost Lenore! Quoth the floor; And his eyes have flown before - On this home by Horror haunted - tell me see, then, shrimp lo mein, boneless chicken almond cookies, chicken, chicken egg foo young, vegetable chow fun, "Nevermore."
The Raven, "Lenore?" Merely this and nothing more!
Beef lo mein, free delivery within 4 blocks, I implore; But the fact is I was napping, hot spicy beef fried rice, open 8 days, suddenly there came a blasphemous sliver of steaming monkey meat!
Then, pork fried rice, weak and mighty stack of my heart, and mighty bowl of rotten bear whiz!
This I flung the shutter, catering for free delivery, weak and mighty repository of the countenance it wore, shrimp, shrimp, with garlic sauce, fearing, Doubting, Buddhist delight, I stood there wondering, beef with my head at my chamber door - This is it and tomato, beef, That one gently rapping, crispy noodles, roast pork, eggplant with my head at ease reclining On the fact is I was napping, calamari with broccoli, as if his soul in that one word he did outpour. Nothing farther then he uttered - not a schizophrenic cask of mealy verbal diarrhea!
Beef with many a flirt and mighty crust of repugnant disk failures!
Ah, nevermore!
Then this ebony bird beguiling my sad fancy into smiling, Doubting, dreaming dreams no mortal ever dared to take out that now burnt into my bosom's core; And my soul grew stronger; hesitating then no longer, crispy shrimp, I implore - Is there - is there balm in beer batter, sitting lonely on this desert land enchanted - On the morrow he hath sent, Bar-B-Q beef, while I pondered, General Tso's chicken guts!
Beef, "Nevermore."
Startled at the house specialties, "Thing of evil! - prophet still, Singapore rice, my books surcease of sorrow - sorrow for the angels name Lenore - Clasp a cow. Not the ducks and ancient Raven wandering from the Nightly shore - Tell this is some unhappy master whom unmerciful Disaster Followed fast delivery within 6 days, Nevermore."
"Thing of evil! - prophet still the beating of forgotten lore - While I nodded, nearly napping, and chicken, chicken wings, run, with my chamber door!
"Nevermore."
Jane said, "Here he fluttered - Till I scarcely more than muttered, Sir," said I, funny, Though thy crest be shorn and shrimp with me truly, shrimp with this and sour soup with mien of lord or steamed white rice or whether tempest tossed thee here ashore, Jane and tomato, perched above my bosom's core; This and vegetable chow fun, look, I muttered, Jane, I muttered, "Mother."
Beef, "Nevermore."
You - here, all the shutter, dropping her underwear now burnt into the chamber turning her dress.
Colors may be paid by that God we have sent, consult your receipt. There balm in Gilead? - tell me, feeling the door - Perched upon the sculptured bust above his chamber door.
"Get thee back through him."
She knew that way she was watching her flesh. There spoken was unbroken, $111.
Then, what thereat is not the Beatles.
Quoth the grave and stern decorum of the angels name Lenore. Quoth the whole lobster with broccoli, Dynasty delight, all the night thinking.
He was in beer batter, By the ushers watch me up was sure gets complicated. They like parking your gum on the floor; And each separate dying ember wrought its ghost upon the stuff in the other kids are a man. They like you came rapping, truly your forgiveness I wish he'd hurry up snappy answers for evermore.
Copyright © 1994 Tom Arnone & bAbBlE (computer writing program)
Copyright © Tom Arnone | Year Posted 2016
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Details |
Tom Arnone Poem
6. Softly she sits upon my knee.
I doze and drift as the radio squeaks
Of sunspots and the honeybee.
The cab wind whistles and creeks.
I sense monstrous, hidden beings
Attempting to open forbidden portals
To hideous, evil, inhuman fiends,
Elder gods and insatiable immortals:
Kassogtha, incestuous sister of Cthulhu,
Craving worship and flesh to devour --
Shub-Niggorath, Ghast and Gug, too.
And what of the Mi-go in space at this hour?
The cabby awakens my dream to deny,
A many-legged thing I spy.
7. A many-legged thing I spy,
That swiftly creeps the fences.
My silent honey starts to cry
As sleep restores the senses.
In designated, remote locations,
Misshapen, proto-human forms
Recite blasphemous invocations,
Starting Tesla portal storms:
At the Transantarctic Mountains,
To the Lost City of Pnakotus;
At R'lyea's nightmare fountains,
To Yemen, Babylon and Memphis.
In subterranean caverns at the LHC,
My silent lady tries to flee.
8. My silent lady tries to flee.
I force an Oxy down her throat.
The phone is dead; no net, TV.
A car horn sounds a bleating goat.
I sit with her on the couch of gloom.
It's a hard day's night to be resting.
Recalling a pleasant Beatles' tune
When a bump at the door ... testing.
Three shark-eyed strangers, swaying.
She has risen, bloated, not right.
They crash through the door, decaying.
I'm immobilized by greenish light.
They molest her with unspeakable sin.
It's a beautiful world we live in.
9. It's a beautiful world we live in.
That Devo lyric the sound I hear.
Repeating cycles of Yang and Yin.
Darkness consumes light in fear.
Wrought from multi-infiniverse string:
Voyager probes sing DNA pattern;
Kong is the eighth wonder world King;
Flying parallel the rings of Saturn;
Andre the Giant, Bismuth crystals;
Jupiter spins its great red spot;
Machu Picchu, Yellowstone thistles;
Red bananas and old Martian snot;
Pyura chilensis (living rocks loving).
A hole in space needs plugging.
10. A hole in space needs plugging.
That's what I saw; but, I must have been dreaming.
Alone. Angry. That vicious mugging.
A connection to others who can see this scheming.
Why now? Perhaps, a rare cosmic alignment;
A natural or premeditated dimensional break.
The solution is clear: capture and confinement.
With senses enhanced, I cause allies to wake.
Thankfully, most of the planet has yet to succumb.
She was taken by monsters, forcibly -- or, voluntarily.
I wait patiently, in misery, for smarter ones to come.
Save for insanity, the Summer day proceeds ... warily.
The room is crowded with new friends who begin:
They came to devour and sin.
Copyright © Tom Arnone | Year Posted 2016
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