Ex-Wife's Wedding

EvilToasterElfEvilToasterElf Posts: 1,119
edited January 2006 in Poetry, Prose, Music & Art
The Wedding of My Ex-Wife

I pull off a copper striped necktie and slam it
into the large oak bar. It was as if the fabric
had rusted through my sternum and corroded
my lungs like a winter beaten muffler.

I order three shots of Jack Daniels and
pound them down my throat one after another,
chasing the chips of the oxidized tie through my
bowels. And I see them floating in
crude oil whiskey sinking to the bottom of my
bloodstream. I shake my head quickly,

hoping to eliminate the aftertaste
of the drink,
and the pictures in my head. Leaving room
in that dark attic to wonder
whether we are more human when ideas
string together in strands of Christmas tree lights

or when the lights are unplugged and all that
shows is a blank smile on the other side of our face. I flip
a ten dollar bill out of my wallet and return
to my table slowly. I stare at the bride’s table, that rectangle
filled with romantic thoughts. She looks perfect up there,
with sun-streaked

red hair that coils into her soft shoulders, and a tight white dress
wrapped around her frame, like some Hollywood starlet
of smiling immortality. She glances
at me with her green eyes and 100 tiny crystal bells chime all

around me. And as my dark space
fills
with pictures of tiny bells hanging from my ribcage,
struck by every expansion of my diaphragm
I hear the suited multitude shouting, “Toast!”
Post edited by Unknown User on

Comments

  • justamjustam Posts: 21,410
    I like this one.
    &&&&&&&&&&&&&&
  • YellowYellow Posts: 699
    me too :)
    It's all yellow.


  • that's the only reason pens ever hit paper. thanks guys

    This forum was long overdue
  • CranMalReignCranMalReign Posts: 1,928
    Or Forever Hold Your Peace: A Dedication to My First and Only True Love
    June 17, 1999

    The air is warm,
    Moist,
    Full of breath and perspiration,
    With the sun gently glittering
    Through the stained glass.

    A slight creaking
    As someone shifts to one side
    And a crying baby
    Momentarily divert my attention
    From the classic proceedings before me.

    How could I forget
    The moments we've shared?
    My soul:
    It's yours
    And I can still claim yours
    As my own

    We've grown so close
    In the past years.
    You and I,
    We've meshed,
    And for that, I'm thankful.

    "We are gathered here today..."
    I've heard it all before
    On television shows
    And in the movies,
    "To join these two..."
    It's so cliché.
    Hurry!
    Please hurry,
    To the part for which I've been waiting
    Too long!
    "In holy matrimony."
    On he drones,
    The ambassador
    To a faith I have no faith in,
    In a church I've never worshipped in,
    With people I've never met.
    On he drones.

    "To love and to cherish..."
    Everyone knows this bit,
    Get on with it!
    "'Till death do you part?"
    Still not there yet.
    Please hurry!
    On he drones.

    Now I'm getting nervous.
    It's almost time.
    My palms are sweating,
    My knees are shaking.
    It's almost time...
    Almost...
    Almost...

    It's time.

    He smiles,
    Looks up from his Good Book,
    "If anyone objects to the joining of these two..."

    I rise to my feet,
    I catch my breath.
    A stunned silence
    Is deafening.
    The hundreds of glaring eyes
    Burn me.
    I look around at all the faces:
    All are shocked,
    Though some more so than others.
    A few smiles strengthen me
    While a hundred frowns pound me into a shell of compliance.
    But it's much too late to go back now.
    Besides,
    I have no peace to hold.
    • 98 Pgh
    • 00 Pgh
    • 03 Pgh|Philly|PSU|Camden 1+2|Hershey
    • 04 Boston 1|Reading
    • 05 Philly
    • 06 Camden 1+2|Pgh
    • 08 Camden 1+2|Hartford|Mansfield 2
    • 09 Philly 1 [EV]|Toronto|Spectrum 1-4
    • 10 Cleveland|Buffalo
    • 11 Philly [EV]|PJ20
    • 12 Philly
    • 13 London|Pgh|Buff|Philly 1+2|Balt
    • 14 Cincy|StL
    • 16 Philly 1+2|Philly 2 [TotD]
    • 18 Boston 1+2
  • BhagavadGitaBhagavadGita Posts: 1,748
    please go on!
  • FinsburyParkCarrotsFinsburyParkCarrots Seattle, WA Posts: 12,223
    Damned fine stuff on this thread.
  • cassiacassia Posts: 277
    .
  • puremagicpuremagic Posts: 1,907
    EvilToasterElf, that was nice, sad, painful, but really nice.
    SIN EATERS--We take the moral excrement we find in this equation and we bury it down deep inside of us so that the rest of our case can stay pure. That is the job. We are morally indefensible and absolutely necessary.
  • Thankyou for the thoughtful critique Cassia, but I'm not sure I like the images to come off that quickly, rather keeping the length of the lines enforcing the wandering shiftless quality of the poem's protagonist.

    There are doubtless line breaks that could be changed, and will be, no poem stays the same for long as I'm sure you know, but I don't think I would sacrifice the style to enhance the music of it
  • CranMalReignCranMalReign Posts: 1,928
    Originally posted by EvilToasterElf
    Thankyou for the thoughtful critique Cassia, but I'm not sure I like the images to come off that quickly, rather keeping the length of the lines enforcing the wandering shiftless quality of the poem's protagonist.

    There are doubtless line breaks that could be changed, and will be, no poem stays the same for long as I'm sure you know, but I don't think I would sacrifice the style to enhance the music of it

    Here here. Sometimes it behooves a poem the be slower, drawn out, or awkward. Personifies that particular mood more.

    Just my 2 pence.
    • 98 Pgh
    • 00 Pgh
    • 03 Pgh|Philly|PSU|Camden 1+2|Hershey
    • 04 Boston 1|Reading
    • 05 Philly
    • 06 Camden 1+2|Pgh
    • 08 Camden 1+2|Hartford|Mansfield 2
    • 09 Philly 1 [EV]|Toronto|Spectrum 1-4
    • 10 Cleveland|Buffalo
    • 11 Philly [EV]|PJ20
    • 12 Philly
    • 13 London|Pgh|Buff|Philly 1+2|Balt
    • 14 Cincy|StL
    • 16 Philly 1+2|Philly 2 [TotD]
    • 18 Boston 1+2
  • The Wedding of My Ex-Wife

    I pull off a copper striped necktie and slam it
    into the large oak bar. It was as if the fabric
    had rusted through my sternum and corroded
    my lungs like a winter beaten muffler.

    I order three shots of Jack Daniels and
    pound them down my throat one after another,
    chasing the chips of the oxidized tie through my
    bowels. And I see them floating in
    crude oil whiskey sinking to the bottom of my
    bloodstream. I shake my head quickly,

    hoping to eliminate the aftertaste
    of the drink,
    and the pictures in my head. Leaving room
    in that dark attic to wonder
    whether we are more human when ideas
    string together in strands of Christmas tree lights

    or when the lights are unplugged and all that
    shows is a blank smile on the other side of our face. I flip
    a ten dollar bill out of my wallet and return
    to my table slowly. I stare at the bride’s table, that rectangle
    filled with romantic thoughts. She looks perfect up there,
    with sun-streaked

    red hair that coils into her soft shoulders, and a tight white dress
    wrapped around her frame, like some Hollywood starlet
    of smiling immortality. She glances
    at me with her green eyes and 100 tiny crystal bells chime all

    around me. And as my dark space
    fills
    with pictures of tiny bells hanging from my ribcage,
    struck by every expansion of my diaphragm
    I hear the suited multitude shouting, “Toast!”


    uberific......
    The only thing I enjoy is having no feelings....being numb rocks!

    And I won't make the same mistakes
    (Because I know)
    Because I know how much time that wastes
    (And function)
    Function is the key
  • uberific......

    You must have been delving deep into the old pages to bring this one back. Thanks for the read, it's actually been changed around quite abit somewhere in the big thread if you're this bored again sometime soon.
Sign In or Register to comment.