for Bruce Boston,
a response to his "Two Nightstands and a Cello"
I hear them in the night.
Those ugly squatting boys,
talking about me, jealous
of my smooth curves
as they flank each side of the bed
like sleazy hoods, hired to guard sleep.
Their large mouths gape
as magazines and late-night
nosherei crumbles, catches
in their throats, making them
sputter, stumble-tongues
askew, bare gums screaming
raw pain, their skins marred
with sticky rings from coffee cups.
Sometimes ashes fall into their creases;
so little respect for the art of fake knotholes.
As the sun rises, I sing,
resound with the love I receive,
as they sit silently, listening
to the complacent humming
of my contours. Jealous boys
are they. Envy reeks from their skins
as I am fondled, placed in velvet
lining, caressed, each string eased,
gently revived for the next refrain,
lullabies, soft blues, vibrant reds
drowning out their yawns.
Their shrieks harshen as they slip,
their castors fumbling for purchase.
Angry hands slap shut their yaws,
as they call forth complaints.
Their lips spill no song, their frames
resonate with nothing more than
the ghosts of dead trees,
hold no echo of long notes, low thrums,
dramatic entrances and exits.
Through the swelter of long afternoons, they collect dust motes as
the western sun streams
through the peau de soie of boudoir,
thirsting for comfort, their sharp edges
anticipating a sliver of pleasure when someone
stubs a toe, catches the flesh of a finger,
loses a watch in the rubble that cultivates
pathos, creating a passion for small
revenge on their owners, making the sharp
kick they might receive worth the pain.
I hear the crackle as their sides burn
with each scrape, the hissed obscenities
of cheap veneer on evenings when I
am taken out to dance among the stars.
Carly Svamvour's poems, short stories and articles have appeared in several magazines, including Twelfth Planet, Pink Chameleon, Mystic Visions, Forgotten Memories, Bovine Free Colorado, Mocha Memoirs, Seven Seas, and . She and her husband, Jeff Svamvour, publish Wild City Times, a magazine that appears both online and in print. In addition, she hosts two online writing forums, Wild City Writers' Workshop and The WBBS Fantasy Critique Forum.
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