Inspired by “The Bucket Rider” by Franz Kafka
Frau Coaldealer,
I am
Before your open door
Cold,
Begging.
The heat of shame,
Has faded
From my bare face
And I am numb
At your feet.
Remember:
You knew me well, once
When my pockets were full
…Not so very long ago.
I was a customer,
Faithful and true.
It was really not so long ago.
Do you not remember,
When you last greeted me
With a warming smile,
Instead of a frown?
If I could feel my nose
I would blush
As if I were kneeling
Before you
Naked.
But to you I am invisible.
Your door slams.
My dry throat burns
As I shout,
“You bad woman!
I begged you
For a shovelful of your worse coal and
You would not
Give it
To me.”
Apathy’s icy hold is sweet,
Like my old mother’s arms,
Which once held me to her breast,
So could hear life pulsing,
And sooth my bad dream.
And as I lay against your shut door,
I welcome the pauses of my beating heart
And close my eyes,
Against the shy puffs of air.
But I am only human.
And so I hope you trip
On my frozen corpse
And sprain your ankle.
I’ll see you in Hell.
You bad woman!
- K. De Melo
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I really enjoyed reading this poem. I can see how you infused Kafka's writing and ideas into poem and created something completely original. Well played!
ReplyDeleteI really liked how you took the story and all it's details and shortened it and made it into a comprehensible poem. I loved this story, but I had to go over each paragraph a couple of times to really grasp what the narrator was saying. Your poem put it plain and simple. However, I am curious; is your ending of the poem supposed to be the same ending as the story, or did you make that part up yourself? Because when I read the end of the story, I took it to mean that he was dead all along, which is why the wife couldn't see him? I don't know...either way I liked your poem. It was an excellent interpretation of the poem.
ReplyDeleteiwish,
ReplyDeleteMy original poem was too short, so I had to improvise to meet the 200+ word requirement.
K. De Melo