apropos
"Loose Woman"
by Sandra Cisneros
They say I'm a beast.
And feast on it. When all along
I thought that's what a woman was.
They say I'm a bitch.
Or witch. I've claimed
the same and never winced.
They say I'm a macha, hell on wheels,
viva-la-vulva, fire and brimstone,
man-hating, devastating,
boogey-woman lesbian.
Not necessarily,
but I like the compliment.
The mob arrives with stones and sticks
to maim and lame and do me in.
All the same, when I open my mouth,
they wobble like gin.
>>>
Diamonds and pearls
tumble for my tongue.
Or toads and serpents.
Depending on the mood I'm in.
I like the itch I provoke.
The rustle of rumor
like crinoline.
I am the woman of myth and bullshit.
(True. I authored some of it.)
I built my little house of ill repute.
Brick by brick. Labored,
loved and masoned it.
I live like so.
Heart as sail, ballast, rudder, bow.
Rowdy. Indulgent to excess.
My sin and success --
I think of me to gluttony.
By all accounts I am
a danger to society.
I'm Pancha Villa.
I break laws,
upset the natural order,
anguish the Pope and make fathers cry.
I am beyond the jaw of the law.
I'm la desperada, most-wanted public enemy.
My happy picture grinning from the wall.
I strike terror among the men.
I can't be bothered what they think.
¡Que se vayan a la ching chang chong!
For this, the cross, the Calvary.
In other words, I'm anarchy.
I'm an aim-well,
shoot-sharp,
sharp-tongued,
sharp-thinking,
fast-speaking,
foot-loose,
loose-tongued,
let-loose,
woman-on-the-loose
loose woman.
Beware, honey.
I'm Bitch. Beast Macha.
¡Wáchale!
Ping! Ping! Ping!
I break things.
7 comentarii:
I couldn't read it. Can you change it into prose? I can read only prose.
Thanks God I'm NOT in highschool anymore! I had been terrorised with learning poems by heart since kindergarden! This was my WORST nightmare, just that it was, actually, a daymare! Blessed is the day when I finished highschool! I really, really don't like poems. I only like this one: "O broscuta mititica s-a suit pe-o pietricica si striga in gura mare toti copiii la culcare". I loved so much this one that I learned it by heart. See? :D
Dupa cum se observa sunt un intelectual foarte rafinat =))
that's one good poem.
the ones i just posted are even better.
and the best part - you don't have to memorize these.
well... i am not quite in the same range of daymares as marius is... but i must say i too am grateful not to be forced to read poems.. i'm not good at them generally...
however i had another reason for writing, and that is to say that a friend's mom grew up with sandra cisneros... unfortunately haven't gotten all the good info yet.
and that should've beeen signed -andreea
i'd also like to add my favorite some of my favorite genius verses :)
Grabila, flamand cat zece
'Nghita un fier de calcat rece.
or
Probabil sub perna are
o branzoaica dulce, mare. (YUMMMY)
aaaaai. you two should get together with my sister and y'all should form some kind of support group for the lyrically traumatized.
actually, i recommend s. cisneros' "the house on mango street" which is definitely not poems and it's also from a kid's point of view, and i love it love it. i mean, i recommend it to you, andreea, because i know marius doesn't "do" books so i won't bother. :D and ileana's already read it (maybe?).
anyway, yes, those are pure genius and let's not forget the best one:
Stietot se plimba-n ploaie
si-a sarit peste o oaie.
.....
but, now seriously, please give these poems a chance 'cause they rock. and marius, you can listen to staceyann's and that way you won't feel like you're reading. :D
ps: if you do find out some good info, andreea, let me know. :D was it in chicago?
I read books, just that right now there are more important stuff. But I don't like literature because it's a waste of time unless it provides good information. There are some historical novels for instance.. But I prefer to read something that has the information concentrated. Why read 100 pages, when I can get the same info in just a few pages?! And what I can't understand is why some people waste their entire life writing love poems and novels.
but useful information means more than dates, or data; it can be images, different points of view, interpretations, random feelings and ideas, fleeting or elaborated thoughts, stories, etc.. and sometimes fiction is able to communicate something 2976287x better than dry "facts"/non-fiction. so ultimately it can be more efficient. that's the thing... plus, some books can literally be almost like a friend. or, just having read the same book as somebody else can constitute a bond - like me and andreea and habarnam, tihi. :)
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