half myths & quarter legends teaser
Post on 08-Nov-2014
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!
Half Myths & Quarter Legends
R L Raymond
R"L"Raymond"–"H
alf"M
yths"&
"Quarte
r"Lege
nds"–"E
pic"R
ites"P
ress"
!
!
Epic!Rites!Press!,!$13.50!www.epicrites.org!
dumbstruck"
he"picks"up"the"knife"
wipes"it"on"his"jeans"
eyes"locked"on"the"toad"
backs"away"
terrified"
"
it"didn’t"blink"but"he"heard"it"say"
now$you’ve$gone$and$done$it$boy$
"
Half Myths
&
Quarter Legends
Poems by R L Raymond
Epic Rites Press
They did
cremate her
then scattered her ashes behind the house
on a cloudless sunday
Chris took care
of all the other details
for his aunt’s memorial
there were pictures
and recipes
family and friends
they told stories about her and Tom
laughed
and cried
and said the baking
couldn’t hold a candle to hers
in the end that’s all she’d really wanted
11
They visit
the abbey recommended
by slick photos and snazzy blurbs on the promotional pamphlets.
It’s raining
when they arrive—
everything dull and grey.
Inside, the stink of old incense hangs from the walls as if nailed there
centuries back.
There’s barely enough brightness
to illuminate the stained glass
revealing scenes of sadness and suffering.
Just one panel,
tucked away behind a distant pew,
shines with a certain lightness and hope.
That is the only picture
she takes, with him in the frame,
smiling.
19
It was cherished
beyond all the other books
dog-eared stained
its pages read
‘til they fell
from the bindings
she ran inside
the second he’d cut a sprig
belting out:
it’s like rogue oregano comes back every year taking over the damn garden…
she slipped the tome
from the shelf
flipped to great-gran’s recipe
for “fabled” lamb
written in exotic cursive
they didn’t teach anymore
with notes from aunts and daughters
her own mother had used a ruler
to underline some ingredients cross out others—faintly
so the original still showed through—
with suggested substitutions
with a scribe’s reverence she penciled in
33
below the loops and curlicues
to the right of the word
oregano
ROGUE
34
Within
pitch dark
where stars whiten at the death—albeit short-lived—
of the streetlamp
cycle-timed for conservation
frogs creak and croak
he hears them
echoed reflected
deflected
from neighbouring houses with windows
open to the calm evening air
that carries the din
there are no thieves conspiring
or ne’er-do-wells whispering
plans for mischief
only frogs
those night-sounds that bounce against constructions and preconceptions
37
Her meaning of quotidian
Mid-morning light
floods the library floor warming the wood slats
that creak
then settle back under the furniture.
Early spring
makes it easy to overlook
the mouse turds along the baseboard
and the dust along the transoms.
On a side table, a dog-eared classic;
from the kitchen, a waft of French Vanilla.
Eventually the Electrolux kills Faulkner
and streak-free windows stink of ammonia.
52
Old men walk to their graves
wringing their hands
remembering backroom deals and women with soft palms
always fragrant
gentle
temporary
they meet in cemeteries
wearing old hats from movies about honour
among thieves
they greet one another
secretly counting the rings
on their fingers patting their pockets
to make sure their wallets
are still there
they tell stories
about the ladies they had
and didn’t have
still wringing their hands
they take bets
on who will be first
to fall into the hole laughing quietly at the fact
that no one will collect that final prize
71
!!
R" L" Raymond" is" a"writer" from"Ontario," Canada."By" blurring" the" line" between" poetry" and" short"fiction," he" produces" narratives" that" can" engage"anyone." Published" in" dozens" of" literary" and"underground" journals" around" the" world," with"three" collections" under" his" belt," Raymond" just"wants" to" break" down" the" walls" and" tell" his"stories."
"Also!Available:!
"Sonofabitch+Poems"B"PigeonBike"Press"
Weakdays"B"Corrupt"Press"Half+Myths+&+Quarter+Legends"B"Epic"Rites"Press"
!!!
For!more!information:!"
www.RLRaymond.ca""
www.about.me/RLRaymond""
""
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