Apocalypse Poetry for Halloween Weekend this Saturday! Spooky Poems from Field Guide to the End of the World
- At October 25, 2016
- By Jeannine Gailey
- In Blog
- 0
Looking forward to this Saturday’s reading and reception for Field Guide to the End of the World at Open Books at 4 PM. Apocalypse-themed costumes welcomed, and festive treats (i.e. cupcakes, cheese and fruit, and sparkly celebratory drinks) will be served! I’ll read poems about the apocalypse, sure, but also about teen witches and vampires, zombies, plagues and pop-culture! This is only my second reading for the new book, and the last one I’ll do in the Seattle area for a while. (I’m reading in Port Townsend in November, but that’s a trek for most Seattle-ites!) I hope it’ll be a fun celebration and also appropriately Halloween-y. We could use some cheering up!
(And thanks to The Stranger for listing my reading on their 29 things to do this weekend on Saturday!
http://www.thestranger.com/things-to-do/2016/10/25/24649448/96-stranger-than-usual-things-to-do-in-seattle-this-week-october-25-30)
Here are a few pics from Woodinville’s October – Mt. Baker view, Chateau Ste Michelle winery grounds, fall!
In addition, I’m hosting this Sunday, the 30th’s, official Twitter #poetparty! You show up, ask questions, give advice, learn how to use hashtags correctly, etc! 6 PM Pacific/9 PM Eastern. We’re talking spooooky poems (and where to send them) in light of the Halloween holiday!
Here are a couple of poems from Field Guide to the End of the World:
Introduction to Witchcraft
Always these young women in search of power,
their eyes rolled back in their heads, midriffs exposed.
Always some girl with a candle in a dark room –
and poof, her face brightens as she achieves
some moment of bliss. The raindrops around her freezein midair, the wolves stop baring their fangs, and for a moment
the young girl marvels at her own invincibility.
But then it’s fire, fire, always someone with a stake or a knife
ready to do her in. She is a spark about to go out.
Introduction to Teen Girl Vampires
turn feral while defending their human boyfriends, harmless and blond
in Varsity jackets and crewcuts. These girls just want to be loved, and fed,in that order, and can we blame them? A nurse here or there won’t be missed,
or the guy playing “second policeman.” Bram Stoker equated blood and sex,Mina chaste and clever while hunting her Dracula down, his bite awaking
impulses that ignited and were ignored. These days, teen vampire girls enjoy sexwith abandon, tossing lovers around like tree limbs. These days, the girl
doesn’t succumb to the monster, she is the monster, teeth gleaming in the moonlight,coquettish limbs and curls masking superpowers. Oh, she still wants to be
the prettiest girl at the prom, and perhaps she mourns some future ideaof motherhood. But men line up for the promise of her bite, her blood.
And she has nothing to fear; she cannot be broken, tarnished by age, her heartimpenetrable to anything except for that wooden stake.
They Are Not Regenerating (from the movie “Zombie Stripper Clones”)
We are not zombies, thrown into a pool
of dubious origin and coming back beautiful
but decaying
unsure of how to live – pretending to swim,
eat yogurt like regular girls.We are not clones, despite being drawn to specifications
(36-26-36) and bearing bouffants and bikinis
we might hack each other to pieces
but we are not confused about our identities(living or not living) we continue
in this shape we were given
our cells cannot regenerate and the scientist
names us “Dead”
we are not regenerating we cannot reproduce ourselves we cannot be anything
but the fulfillment of your fantasy, flesh-eating or not.