Monday, April 6, 2009

Pieces of Janice Joplin

                                                             

 On cotton cushion coddled by songs of brittle lace

Loose gray shirt, raw damp with fog's baggy chill

Bitter rain keeps snapping at a rotting windowsill

Her visage, a wavering light on warped glass vase

 

Anguish of words dissolves in throat without truce

Limp lips of dying green leaves can't get their fill

Sloshing Southern Comfort igniting notes that kill

Face sings thumping tears, heart drenched in abuse

 

 Vocal cords screaming for love into air's deaf ear

Notes constricting around torso, stomach strained

Wanting love's rich plate, ingesting needle's peace

 

 Reframes cannot wipe away her wet sheeting fear

Bulbous purple veins punctured dry, arms drained

Dry mouth, heart lost, body ripped into the release

 

Tom Parsons