‘Real genius means pushing the boundaries between death and art’
Inspired by: bukharinwasmyfavouritebolshevik
Six ways to kill yourself in art (26th June 2008, 2.29pm, 27th June, 9.09am)
Immortalised, the poet lies,
in a pool of words; tiny
punctuation marks
decorate her neck; her
mortis grasp upon her pen;
the laptop wires entangle
her limbs, locking her, blinking,
to her last, unfinished poem.
Red splattered, the artist
hangs from the studio ceiling
once more, with feeling,
paintbrush dripping
in a circular pattern,
creating one last perfect image;
white spirit rises, fume by
fume, to fill the room.
Flat out and face down,
the dancer bleeds across
the stage; one last great
performance, drawing out
every last sinew, as the music
echoes, the final movement
continuing without her,
her heart burst with effort.
Nothing left to say, the writer
has been sentenced to death
by his own lack of inspiration;
the angry muse twiddles her
thumbs, itching to bruise his
neck again; two perfect thumbs
like a necklace, throat open,
one last gasp of protest.
Distressed, the chef has
popped his last cherry into
that wide mouth; the roast is
in the oven and he has indulged
himself one step too far; a recipe
for disaster was being struck by
fits of laughter at the shape of
his apprentice’s tart.
Descending the scales,
hanging in the air, wearing
only a G-string, the musician
dangles upside down, a cappella
in his death throes; the pianist
gone home for the weekend.
One last solo, rending the theatre;
appassionato, then a niente.
Comments
Caldwell | June 26, 2008 - 14:10
If I had to choose one of these ways to go, it would be the chef, bizarre though his fate may be, though unfortunately for the moment I find myself in the deathly grip of your writer... I'm trapped with a lack of anything decent to write and any decent way to write it.
First stanza is a killer if you'll pardon the pun.
Glad you keep at it, I'm enjoying your stuff very much.
jennifer | June 26, 2008 - 14:41
Yep, that's be me in the first stanza, I expect! Keeping at it right up to the last minute...
Dynamaso | June 27, 2008 - 01:06
This is a great piece, Jen, really excellent and grimly amusing.
The only artist missing from here, as far as I'm concerned, is the musician. Maybe you could add another stanza, if only for my benefit.
jennifer | June 27, 2008 - 07:57
Ah! The musician! Thank you!
I was wondering who I had left out. One of my students suggested 'eating' as the fifth art, so I went with it. Ok, here we go....
chuck | June 27, 2008 - 12:38
...apassionato, then a niente. What a perfect last line!
tcook | June 27, 2008 - 14:31
A real favourite already - top of my list from you - and that's a pretty good list!
jennifer | June 27, 2008 - 14:34
Wow, thank you, Tony! Huge compliment. Definitely on the Brighton list then, trying to decide and write new unposted stuff as I speak...
And thank you, Chuck, for your short but extremely sweet comment! (for the non-musical, it means 'with passion, then fading to nothing'.)
CheleCooke | June 27, 2008 - 14:37
This is awesome! I loved the funny little phrases, like
'recipe for disaster'
and
'sentenced to death
by his own lack of inspiration'
The poem for me is quite dark, but deliciously so. I loved this!
*looks around for a way to make it a favourite and link it to my page*
jennifer | June 27, 2008 - 14:50
Heavens! It might just be the best thing I've ever written! I have a dark sense of humour...
Foster | June 27, 2008 - 18:26
An author's favorite is rarely something that has broad appeal - my favorite pieces are hated by most everyone but me. So, are you saying this might be the best you've written, or your own personal favorite? Just curious.
Dynamaso | June 28, 2008 - 02:43
Jen, the musician stanza is brilliant. I agree with Chuck too; the last line is perfect.
jennifer | June 28, 2008 - 11:16
Haha, Foster - I do love it when my wickedly dark sense of humour takes over and writes my poetry. I feel I whinge on a lot about love and loss of love when my talents are better employed writing stuff like this that are more appealing to readers than self-indulgent poetess head-space things!
This is also a poem inspired by someone else on abc, which I also love - when one writer's work inspires another - why I love this place.
And thanks also to Dynamaso, who requested a sixth verse for the neglected musician. He inspired that one!
Ken Simm | July 1, 2008 - 09:39
Wonderfully tongue in cheek grotesque and blackly funny.
Toabs | August 8, 2008 - 23:02
wow, that is realy good, although i know i shouldn't i found some of the deaths funny... very grim, very good.