{"id":1371,"date":"2008-09-08T11:47:56","date_gmt":"2008-09-08T11:47:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ink.verticalplus.co.uk\/archive\/?p=1371"},"modified":"2008-09-08T11:47:56","modified_gmt":"2008-09-08T11:47:56","slug":"two-new-poems-by-carol-lynn-grellas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/inksweatandtears.co.uk\/archive\/two-new-poems-by-carol-lynn-grellas\/","title":{"rendered":"Two new poems by Carol Lynn Grellas"},"content":{"rendered":"

I think we've all been here with the first of these two pieces …Ed<\/span><\/p>\n

Regarding Your Submission <\/span>

though we appreciate the effort<\/span>
you took, we\u2019re very sorry <\/span>
for the postage stamps you\u2019ve wasted <\/span>
in your attempt to deliver poetry.<\/span>

We did enjoy a few lines <\/span>
that showed promise, especially <\/span>
the one comparing death <\/span>
to an embryonic state of being.<\/span>

But it wasn\u2019t enough to move<\/span>
us, or send a shiver down Mary\u2019s<\/span>
telekinetic spine, and we\u2019re convinced <\/span>
she is the barometer for all promising<\/span>

poems; not that we need a mind reader<\/span>
to set the bar for our decisions, <\/span>
but her paranormal abilities transcend <\/span>
the norm, and so we call this the Mary-test,<\/span>

which unfortunately you did not pass.<\/span>
My best advice would be to read,<\/span>
read, read. Unlock something new<\/span>
from a warbled dream, a disturbing<\/span>

experience, try to examine the smallness<\/span>
of things, and find the grandeur <\/span>
in what seems absurd. Consider possiblities,<\/span>
like spending a day in the life of an ant.<\/span>

I\u2019ve used a magnifying glass once<\/span>
or twice and angled the sun\u2019s rays <\/span>
perfectly, just to burn an insect or two<\/span>
in hopes of writing a masterful poem.<\/span>

I assumed the incident would lend itself <\/span>
to something metaphorically wonderful,<\/span>
as I watched them fighting for the little<\/span>
lives. Unfortunately Mary shared <\/span>

with me later, that my poem<\/span>
came by way of tortuous effort <\/span>
and was therefore discounted considerably<\/span>
when she reviewed my work.<\/span>

The trick is to confuse the audience<\/span>
until they have no idea what <\/span>
you\u2019re saying, and if your poems <\/span>
come on Friday, there\u2019s good<\/span>

chance we\u2019ll have had a couple <\/span>
of shots of tequila, which make<\/span>
for more positive responses<\/span>
since Mary usually eats the worm.<\/span>
 <\/span>
~ ~ ~ ~ ~<\/span>
 <\/span>
My Mother at a Job Interview<\/span>

Let's see…<\/span>

You\u2019ve expertise with poison ivy <\/span>
when your children woke with eyelids <\/span>
swollen shut and lips that quivered <\/span>
Mommy, in voices whistle-shrill\u2013<\/span>

the skill of sitting up each endless <\/span>
night distracting them from itchiness, <\/span>
no pill could ever do all that.<\/span>
The way you rubbed them down <\/span>

with alcohol when fevers reached<\/span>
1.4 like some magic Queen of voodoo; <\/span>
you\u2019re a sorceress with more <\/span>
than wonder hidden in your bag <\/span>

of tricks, but they will never know<\/span>
the way you\u2019ve kept ten thousand<\/span>
tears inside, alleviating fears, <\/span>
while praying for those miracles\u2013<\/span>

so far non denied; as if you knew <\/span>
they\u2019d always come. How do we <\/span>
evaluate the sum of all you\u2019ve done<\/span>
for them? I think we\u2019ll mark<\/span>

your application, and use a scale <\/span>
from one to ten, determining<\/span>
what job your suited for, till then<\/span>
how 'bout we just put Wonder <\/span>

Woman on you door.<\/span>


* Carol Lynn Grellas is a Northern California-based writer, where she attended Santa Clara University as an English major. She is the author of two chapbooks <\/span>Litany of Finger Prayers<\/span><\/font> soon to be released from Pudding House Press and<\/span> Object of Desire<\/span> accepted for publication by Finishing Line Press and will be forthcoming sometime within the year. She has been widely published in magazines and online journals. Carol Lynn lives with her husband, Jim, five children and a blind dog named Ginger, who inspire much of her poetry. <\/span>

<\/font><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I think we've all been here with the first of these two pieces …Ed Regarding Your Submission though we appreciate the effortyou took, we\u2019re very sorry for the postage stamps you\u2019ve wasted in your attempt to deliver poetry.We did enjoy a few lines that showed promise, especially the one comparing death to an embryonic state […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1371","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-prose-poetry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/inksweatandtears.co.uk\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1371","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/inksweatandtears.co.uk\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/inksweatandtears.co.uk\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inksweatandtears.co.uk\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inksweatandtears.co.uk\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1371"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/inksweatandtears.co.uk\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1371\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/inksweatandtears.co.uk\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1371"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inksweatandtears.co.uk\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1371"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inksweatandtears.co.uk\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1371"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}