Living Off the Grid
The sun with rare generosity
beats down on the solar panels
on the roof of Vincent’s log cabin.
The first sentence of his organic novel
–The abattoir, for once, was silent –
sits alone on his laptop screen.
This is the seed from which will spring
plot, character, content.
He gets up, walks out through the kitchen door
through the tortured arch of his driftwood arbor
and into the vegetable garden
where he urinates in a jagged arc
sprinkling life-giving nutrients
on the unsuspecting butter lettuce.
Returning to his desk
he taps out another sentence:
With his mother’s mop, he wipes
the blood from the kitchen floor.
Why so morbid?
It’s warm, he’s feeling drowsy,
he detects a faint signal from a long-dormant source
like the distant ping from a submarine
at the bottom of the ocean.
He should invite someone for dinner,
the lady who sells jam at the Saturday market, perhaps,
or the angry sculptress – she of the tangled hair,
the scrap metal raptors, the acetylene scent.
The jam lady it is.
Bottle of wine from the retired lawyer’s vineyard,
salmon from the gnarled fishermen down at the dock,
try a little humor,
ask her if raspberry jam is a male preserve,
make a nice salad. What’s the worst that could happen?
This poem first appeared a little while back in “The Basil O’Flaherty” .
It was also published previously on this blog, thought it was worth another look.
I’m intrigued. Vincent’s novel sounds like an interesting read.
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I think his novel is permanently stuck on the opening sentences!
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Been trying for years to perfect a jagged arc-like piss…failed every time…is there a secret to it?…. getting drunk?……have I answered my question?….get myself pissed?
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You got it Don! You answered your own question!
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Thankyou for your advice and reassurance I’m on the right track….I will go practice for the perfect jagged arc-like piss…..is there a world record for this?…..I imagine arc-distance would come into it……also length of piss-time……I’m gonna get pissed and go practice real hard……mum’s telling me I’ve got my head in the clouds
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Oh but the angry sculptress sounds more fun!
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Ha! Fun but complicated!
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Thanks for sharing your story
We to live off grid with solar as well
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