{"id":3452,"date":"2012-05-15T02:14:48","date_gmt":"2012-05-15T02:14:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sporkpress.com\/poetry\/?p=352"},"modified":"2012-05-15T02:14:48","modified_gmt":"2012-05-15T02:14:48","slug":"5-poems-from-donavon-davidson-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thisissporkpress.com\/archive\/2012\/05\/15\/5-poems-from-donavon-davidson-2\/","title":{"rendered":"5 Poems from Donavon Davidson"},"content":{"rendered":"

Scene XV<\/strong><\/p>\n

In which Hamlet’s piteous sigh<\/em>
\n             is heard by Ophelia<\/em><\/p>\n

We make love every time
\nshe says I have to see a man about a horse
\nbehind a carriage
\nnothing easy
\nis forever a good thing
\nwhat makes Sammy run
\nto the book depository
\nlife is a bowl of cherries
\non the side of the road
\na bed of roses
\neverybody lays on the ground
\nthat’s life and only life
\nis David Lynch singing through a vocoder
\nslow down
\nall good things to those who wait
\na shot in the dark
\ninvitation to love
\na moment of clarity
\nfor old times’ sake
\nwe embrace the truth
\nperforming a disappearing act
\naccording to the laws of gravity
\nholding each other meant everything
\nwe never spoke when spoken to<\/p>\n

_____________________________________<\/p>\n

Scene XVI<\/strong><\/p>\n

In which Rosencrantz and Guildenstern
\n            bend to Hamlet’s understanding<\/em><\/p>\n

it’s better to have loved
\nto never love at all
\nthe world behind a curtain
\nis better left unsaid
\nif love makes the world go around
\nsaying things about my mother
\nbehind my back
\nthe stage resembles the usual tragedies
\nyou called to say it’s over
\nthe hill with a ruined church
\neveryone thinking is haunted
\nHalleluiahs on headstones
\nfor years no one picks up
\nthe receiver refused to accept the charges
\nthe front door was always open
\nthe lights were always blue
\nT.V. selling weight loss
\nthrough the bedroom door
\nthe lights were always blue
\ntying one on
\nout on a flesh toned limb
\nevery cloud has a silver lining
\nif it’s not one thing it’s another
\nget behind me Satan
\nsay hi to my mother<\/p>\n

_____________________________________<\/p>\n

Scene XVII<\/strong><\/p>\n

In which Polonius reveals Hamlet’s
\n            distemper to king and queen<\/em><\/p>\n

step back for a second
\nlook before you leap
\nout of the frying pan
\nthe critics say you were forced
\nto find your feet
\nwithout a leg to stand one
\nmetaphorically speaking
\nyou fell head over heels
\nanatomically speaking
\nno one could save you from yourself
\nacting without a heart
\nin the apple of your eye
\nan arrow isn’t needed to blind
\nso far as we can see
\nspiritually speaking
\nevery wedding needs a shotgun
\nto help us learn by failure
\nspeak now or forever hold your peace
\nblind folded or execution style
\nthe easy way is just as hard
\nto reach for the sky
\nyou never had a chance<\/p>\n

_____________________________________<\/p>\n

Scene XVIII<\/strong><\/p>\n

In which Hamlet tells Polonius
\n            conception is a blessing<\/em><\/p>\n

I think I can make the world a better place
\nI hide the revolver
\nin the shape of my hand
\nbetween a knocked over lamp and white sheet
\nyou tied up beautifully
\ndisguised as a compliment
\nwe called room service
\nour lady of the sweet hereafter
\nlet it be known we will eat with our mouths closed
\nuntil further notice
\nthe intended program will be interrupted
\ndue to icy conditions
\ndue to the fact I think I can
\nnever search through your hair with my fingers
\nloaded and half in the bag
\nyou said it looks like a bird, a plane
\nexploding in flight, you said
\ntake a picture
\nit will last longer<\/p>\n

_____________________________________<\/p>\n

Scene XIX<\/strong><\/p>\n

In which Hamlet greets Rosencrantz
\n            and Guildenstern at the prison gates<\/em><\/p>\n

you’ll have to forgive my body
\ncoming on too strong
\nwhen push comes to shove
\naround the wishing well
\na picture is worth a thousand words
\nthat only makes it worse
\nto be seen believing
\nI answer to no one
\nI enter a doctor’s office
\nobsessed with nautical art
\nI know is only a theory
\ndifferent knots serve only one purpose
\nto heal the sick
\nwith a slight air of entitlement
\nsometimes it comes in the form of a friend
\nmore than a friend
\nsaying it isn’t you it’s me
\nslipping a life line around your neck
\nit’s safe they say
\nit only makes it worse
\nto learn my name
\ntaken once in the morning and once in the evening
\nside effects include dancing
\nwhen no one is looking
\nfor all the right reasons
\nsinging in the shower
\nwhen no one is listening
\nfor the landing of a coin
\nin a well<\/p>\n

_____________________________________<\/p>\n

Scene XX<\/strong><\/p>\n

In which Hamlet recounts the players
\n            modest cunning<\/em><\/p>\n

everything is conditional
\nif I am on top of her
\nfalling into a dark hole
\nI give until it hurts
\nher pussy is the center of the universe
\nif it looks too good to be true
\nshe’s been practicing her whole life to get it right
\nif it’s the first or last thing she’ll ever do
\nmy secret will be safe
\nwhen I was twelve my brother called me a pussy
\nsurrounded by a scary group of givers and takers
\nI was the center of the universe
\nif it rained in Indiana
\neverybody got wet
\nif I took a shot
\nI gave until it hurt
\nif things were not the way they were
\nI wouldn’t be here
\ndying in some private way
\nif it really mattered how I began
\nI would have let them teach me a lesson
\nif the center of the universe show itself to you
\na mirror is broken every time<\/p>\n

_____________________________________<\/p>\n

Donavon\u2019s<\/strong> poems have appeared in many online and print journals, most recently in: Barnstorm, Juked, The Fiddleback, Prick of the Spindle, Oak Bend Review, Pirene\u2019s Fountain, The Montucky Review, Spork, 3:AM, Anti-, and MiPOesias. He received his MFA from Goddard College and currently teaches writing at the Community College of Vermont.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Scene XV In which Hamlet’s piteous sigh              is heard by Ophelia We make love every time she says I have to see a man about a horse behind a carriage nothing easy is forever a good thing what makes Sammy run to the book depository life is a bowl of cherries on the side […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1,2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3452","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","category-things"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thisissporkpress.com\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3452","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thisissporkpress.com\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thisissporkpress.com\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thisissporkpress.com\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thisissporkpress.com\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3452"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/thisissporkpress.com\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3452\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thisissporkpress.com\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3452"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thisissporkpress.com\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3452"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thisissporkpress.com\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3452"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}