Auto-da-fé

by Carolyn Zonailo

64 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1977

Reviews

[M.W.P.M. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sentence on heretics took place in public so that the scene might be witnessed by a large number of people. The ceremony, religious, barbaric, and a ritual massacre, was called an Act of Faith - auto da fé...

Jacob's Ladder


that man going round & round
on the spiral staircase
enters me

as he ascends
he forgets part of himself

as he descends
he finds them again

than man going round & round
frightens me

one moment he will climb
past the balustrade

further than my eye
can see

loose all those parts of himself:
flesh, bone, spirit

* * *

Nest


Today Sappho left three
dead birds
on the front porch,
only the shadow of bones
picked clean. Trying to read
the omen
I fell from a feathered nest
and my poem became a flight
wounded in mid-air
the cry of a bird
whose wings are words.
My poem became an open
mouth
fed by worms
and my eyes turned
the same blue
as the cat's
and I forgot
whether I was predator
or victim.

* * *

BC Research


the lamb
going to slaughter
bleats once
before it dies
a sound
like a child's voice
crying
they have taken
its woolly coat
and made a warm
winter blanket
they have taken its heart
to investigate
they have made
thin soup
from its rich blood

* * *

LUNATIC BREAKS


That's the Breaks

He was bleeding
all over the page
but it was only
ketchup

He kept phoning me
to say
he was about to
commit suicide

He was definitely
getting maudlin
in the manner of
old women & poets

After the millionth
orgasm on paper
I decided somebody
had to take
him, seriously

* * *

All-Star Cast

Beauty, said Beardsley,
is difficult
so you might
as well
get used to being
the beast

it takes
less effort

if you're gonna
fight
you'd better be
the winner
'cause no one likes
an ugly loser

you're a beauty
he said

* * *

Western

If you wanna know
the most important thing
is always
keep your boots on

If you wanna be
a lady
you gotta remember
to wear
a split skirt
on a saddle

If the horse
bucks
dont hang onto
the horn
& if you lose
your hat
you're outta the picture

* * *

Rain Dance

That time you made
me eat
horsemeat
& didn't even
say a word
when I cooked the steaks
juciy with mushrooms
& ate every mouthful
with you sitting there
enjoying the joke

When I decided
to fry
the dildo
you said I like
a woman with balls

* * *

Death of a Cowboy

It's all over
she said
all over my breasts
my belly
all over the sheets

It was a climax
to remember

It' all off
she said in the bath
her pubis
shaved naked
as a pear

Between us
it's been finished
for a long time
she said
removing the cartridge

There are so many
ways to tempt fate

She aimed the gun
& pulled the trigger
& it was all over