Cabaret – dVerse Poetics

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Wikipedia

 

Greasepaint and glitter and show me your thighs

encased in the finest of silks.

Tip me the wink, girl,

sashay on over,

wrap yourself around that lucky ole chair

step on the seat back,

tip it on over

run your fingers through that brassy blond wig.

Bite your cherry red lip,

pout in my direction,

flutter your eyelashes

to hide who you truly are.

(But I can see through you

I can unravel the secret inside).

You hope I don’t know you.

you think you are hidden,

but I have the list

and your name is right here.

‘Jude’ runs right through you

and it’s only a matter of time

until that old gold star

emblazons itself on your skin,

until the flames devour you

and you join the planets spangling above.

‘Til then my sweet hussy

dance for your life.


 

This week on dVerse Poetics, Lillian invites us to write, inspired by the words razzle, dazzle and sparkle. Hmm… this immediately took me to one of my favourite films of all time – Cabaret. I love it for the music, the clever lyrics and (this won’t be a surprise to those who know me) the period of history and where it is set, in Berlin.

The dark brooding presence of the Nazis is so well-entwined with the hedonistic feel of pre-war Berlin’s cabaret scene, it haunts me. So my idea of razzle, dazzle and sparkle is inextricably interwoven with that, I’m afraid. Hey ho – I never claimed to be anything but a dark writer, except on occasion!

Please do head on over to dVerse and enjoy the work of other poets!

Shell-like – dVerse Meeting the Bar

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An orb with no end

No beginning

No clue as to exactly what lies within

 

A feast for a small tummy

An accompaniment to the main event

For the grown amongst us

we want – if not need – more than that

 

Keep me safe until I am ready

Until my lungs are grown

Until the good air can sustain me

 

No defence against the tile floor

Smithereens I am now

Slipped between clumsy fingers

 

Oh, the joyous result

when mixed with sugar, flour, butter

and baked for all to enjoy

– with frosting aboard

and candles of course

 

This was my home, Mama!

How did i fit in there?

Why didn’t I break it?


Oh, I do love a challenge! Tonight, on dVerse Meeting the Bar, Bjorn invites us to adopt a cubist approach as we write about an every day object. As Bjorn explains:

“Cubism is first of all not abstract, but another form of realism. The pioneers were Pablo Picasso and George Braque who started to explore reality using the following starting points.

Break the concept of perspective, something that had been around at least since the renaissance.

Break the picture into simplified objects with clear borders in between. These forms were often done as geometric object, each of them simplified and with clear borders between them.”

So, we are invited to apply these concepts and adapt them to writing a poem!

I enjoyed writing about eggs on Tuesday, so I thought I would continue – I hope you enjoy it, and I hope I have managed to achieve what Bjorn has asked of us!

Please do head on over to dVerse, read, enjoy and rise to the challenge!

Penumbra – Quadrille Monday

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Shadow me dark,

shade my soul,

ombré is my colour,

encompass me, whole.

Unfurl your umbrella,

turn my day into deep night,

elongate my torso,

protect me from the light.

Pull my shadow outwards,

take my spirit

soaring

high.

Enlighten me.

I beg you.


 

It’s Quadrille Monday over on dVerse, where this week we are asked to write a poem of exactly 44 words, using the word ‘shadow’.

Please do take part, or, if you’d prefer, just head on over to read all the other entries. Enjoy!