For the time you waited
in the weeds, slithering
through my undergarments,
positioning to bite me,
a thousand injuries,
and I was your perfect fruit
the apple of your eye
the peel may feel fresh
long after the core dies.
Parade madness, a home you’ll go?
Your health is precious, and
it’s no matter to me
how twisted the evening goes.
Chambers stocked
lets tipsy downtown
see what tickles our
Mardi Gras toes.
Bruised in the embrace
of your excessive warmth.
You have the member
of a motley jester,
and I know you of old,
so I bend, show you
the trowel beneath my folds;
your eyes, fuzzy streetlights.
Come let us go, and you stumble
sticking your hands in cobweb hair
a weak point
trusting a spider won’t bite
because it enjoys the shivering.
The tinkling of the elevator bells
the pleasure of a redresser.
Why so cold?
Helps to harden the tips, you say,
and you laugh heartily,
forgetting the time you set fire
to my family tree
immolation
molestation
burning those closest to me.
I didn’t know you had a fetish
you joke as I fetter you to the posts.
I smile, there’s much you don’t know,
and I point through the window:
bricks exposed and broken
where fireworks explode.
Shhhh, just think of those;
you whimper each time
my chamber unloads.
This is for my niece–
snake below the rake,
rest in peace.
I taught this short story for many years. This poem was written for a Late Night Poet’s Twisted Tuesday “The Poe in Poetry.” What Poe tale inspires you? If you’ve written a piece based on Poe, please share a link.
The Cask of Amontillado
A story of revenge
The narrator in this story vows revenge upon a man named Fortunato. He takes advantage of Fortunato’s ego and lures him down into the recesses of an underground vault to taste a rare wine, a cask of Amontillado.
Artis/Illustrator: Arthur Rackham
Yard Sale of Thoughts 
Amazing poem. Quite disturbing. When I read it was based on Poe, that made sense.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yes, this is by way of a favorite Poe short story of mine and I thought I could definitely do it justice. Thank you very much, Worms.
LikeLiked by 1 person
love the ribaldry, the wordplay, , the rich fruit cake of images , and that startling line, ‘your eyes, fuzzy streetlights’ 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you, John. The way that Poe makes you root for evil and laugh and snicker through sickness is amazing. I tried to capture his playfulness and also his biting humor. Think I could toss this one in the tumbler, and smooth it over–might still do that.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I found it difficult at first but I remember what you said about that sad, ignored post of yours so I went back to it and though I still don’t really know what’s going on, I enjoyed the playful, snickering imagery; like that Waterboys song’ I saw the crescent, you saw the whole of the moon’ 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you, John. Painful those full moon shots, sometimes. 😉 Oh, what a wonderful memory, the Waterboys’ song, seems like ages ago I featured it. Magic, your crescent moon view. I enjoy it.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Wow. That’s super powerful, K. You did do the short story justice. Well done. ☺️
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you, Jeff. I missed your kind comment first go-round. This is one of my favorite Poe stories. Do you have a favorite?
LikeLiked by 1 person
You’re most welcome, K. Happens to me all the time. I’ve not read that much Poe, yet, I like A Dream within a Dream quite a bit.
LikeLiked by 1 person
That’s a beautiful one. Just reread it; love the failed rescue of even one grain of sand in the ebb and flow of life.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Indeed, it is. I too love the sand metaphor. Reminds me that holding onto things, which we all do to some extent, is folly, as they will surely sift through our fingers…beautiful poem, indeed.
LikeLiked by 1 person
What a lovely explanation, Jeff. It’s a great feeling, those grains of sand. Almost more precious in their brevity. Cheers!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Great build up in your macabre rendition – juicily disturbing!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you. 😀I quite enjoyed recreating this tale, so I’m glad you’re enjoying it. I’d like to tell you there was a light at the end, but we’ll, there’s more grimness upcoming.
LikeLiked by 1 person