A Tribute to Flannery O’Connor
Wise Blood
A Prayer for Hazel Motes
Place him in the sun,
Where scorched sands
Deny most trying beasts a home,
Where light will leave him sightless
In the white day,
And night shall bring such chill
That pale stars
Will burn his eyeless skull.
Leave him to learn
The strange economy of lizards,
And pray with me,
That he, shall come to know
That sometimes;
Gods destroy us in capricious ways.
©James Rainsford 2012
Note to readers: Written as a tribute to an iconic figure in American literature and posted as my contribution to Open Link Night at dVerse Poets. Your views are welcome.
I'll respond to all who visit here and leave a comment. Kind regards to all at the pub tonight. James.
dang..tight images here..pale stars
ReplyDeleteWill burn his eyeless skull...The strange economy of lizards...and the closure made me swallow hard..
I laughed at your subtitle and then remembered that was likely okay :). Your imagery soars and your tribute sound.
ReplyDeleteWonderful wonderful poem. Love her too, and such a great photo. Talk about being full of life. k.
ReplyDeletethis is fabulous,
ReplyDelete"Leave him to learn
The strange economy of lizards,"
love the imagery!
It's the finish that completes me. Wise write, Wise one...and perhaps a little cheeky too. Fantastic James...but that's nothing new. ;)
ReplyDeletedang dang dang...this is brutal and honest...that last stanza in particular....i wont quote the whole thing to you but it rocked my socks man...
ReplyDeleteI saw your Flannery O'Connor tease on twitter, so I had to stop by. I'll never forget the first time I opened Wise Blood. It was like a new world opened up to me. Well done on the poem. It was definitely worth the click over :)
ReplyDeleteKind of disturbing to read this - God destroys us in capricious ways - I certainly hope not!
ReplyDeleteTight, rich and the ending gave me shivers.
ReplyDelete