lala land
DESCRIPTION
Jillian Kay's chapbook.TRANSCRIPT
Bling Bling
High Jump
Hot at Night
4:35 am
Luke
La La Land
Three Horned Consequence
Backwards Yard
Three Dogs
everything about her was frills and bling blingshe danced on her tippy toesmade my heart singshe pulled some stringsshe made some promisesshe dealt the cardsand danced on top of them
on the deck she spun when the sun went downshe rose drew me the jack of heartsthe queen of diamondsshe was black and rednothing else was saidto the point she rocked this jointpuff puff passshe finished lastI wasn’t done with her
Bling Bling
Another game? she wanted to play diamonds for hearts
So she jerked off her necklaceand I reached under my ribs
a red mess glittered We flipped the squaresthrough straights and pairs
She wonand soon my heart was aroundher throat
I got dizzy on tequilaand blood lossbut a bet’s a bet, I know no regret
all I know is mami you look fly today and I want that treasure around your neck to sway when you dance with me.
One of my favorite thingsis jumping off cliffs
there is beauty in indecision, unlimited possibility and the assurance ofa certain conclusion.
call off this car pool cuz we ain’t goin home
the moon is full split in two big yellow eyes and they’re jonsin’ for you
Besides,How could you resist? Mr. Sky, the charmer,in midnight blue
finely dressed but a speckled messdotted with diamonds which come and go
making wishes inspiring first kisses and all that you know
in this blue darkit’s a sticky hot messwhite linen pockets and a lack of distress
it’s now
daylights coming to chase it away
tick tock and off we go get to sleep before the sun comes home
cuz I’ll put money onthe bigger halfof a wishin’ chicken bonethat you wont feel this good when you face that big ol’ yellow ball alone!
but she wont mind if you drink her like a glass of lemonadesugar grit teeth and rich sweet sweat beads
in a little while Miss Sun will go we’ll see her pink pantieswhen she’s bent over the earth wakin’ up two moons.
Hot at Night
i.There’s no light in here except clock faceseagerly flashing not from lightning
from lazinessand a lack of caring an embrace of the unknown!
the crisp before dawn is troubling when your alone
it’s no one landit’s an empty place there’s no friends here
those old men and other restless soulsin other places not unlike your own
4 :35 AM
ii.I wish I was in a nightmare!I’d love to be theremy skin peeled off by monstersrabid dogs at my ankles someone is always behind you
Less than rested
everything you should have done just spinsoccupying the time
and killing sheep I had no idea howI’ll carve the numbers into their fur
red numbers like flashing 00:00’s
4 :35 AM
Luke
I’d love to put your head in a burlap bagwatch the fiber turn red
then reach my arm far backwardsand catapult your every thought
into that river
you’d bobble along in that burlap bag
I’d stand on the banks of that river warm and perfect incredibly beautiful
in that red cashmere sweater
They don’t take reality checks in La La Land
Only purple poodles and colored beads in a can
The sun sets the dinner table
and the night falls in a drunken stupor trying to count the spinning stars
pass the jeggly-jug! filled with spider brains, deer blood, fermented biggle bombs and pear’s feet
toss that sacred sludge and lets get on with it!
Here the girls grow red petalsout of their fingers
They really are as pretty as roses
That rapping at your window is the boogie man and those tree branches are his fingers
la lA land
WATCH out there are snakes in the grassand ants in your pantsthe only way to get rid of them
is to continue to dance
Watch your back cuz it’s comin and whatever it isyou will want some more of it
The morning glory will tell you the story of everything you did not remember
and the blue birds that rise with the sun in the morning will tell you the only sin is mortality
I stuck three thorns in the side of that big old pig
A brass horn by my side to honor the dead
In fear of what I’d doneall I did was run and run and run
Three miles laterI played the pig a love songBegging he’d forgive me
Seven miles latermy feet had needles in them my eyes were crusted dustCertain I was polished off I knew I must face what I had done
BUT Just a moment laterblurry I saw Heaven
It was a neon pink sign above a white door
I was saved
frantically I turned the key and snapped off its head
the door disappeared and my fate was made clearbefore my feet lay a belly up pig half bonewith three thorns in his side
Backwards yard
I’m lost for wordsI’m hidden for soundI’m walking on fence posts to avoid the ground I’ll never be thereto touch bare earth between my toes I’m far to afraid of the truth and the worms like light at midnight I’ll never find home big blue silence I hear dogs cry and I moana spell of wrongs and a wish of rights take me home quite midnight I am home quite midnight
Three dogs came home last night shivering scared wet an awful sight
I stood inside the frame of my doorpicturesque scene warm yellow lightthree dogs out shakin’ in the blue storm
I looked at my houndsupright hairs on their necks ears pinned to their throatsshakin’ in their wet coats what has got you this way?
The first dog’s name was Black the Labrador leader of this particular pack Well Ma you wont believe what I sawit was shriveled ugly thing with a broken jaw,
with ice white skin and bloody knees, the nastiest damn thing I’d ever seen!
eyes big black balls and hair like weedschipped up fingernails two scars on its foreheadand holes in the palms of its hands
I was skeptical now of ol’ Black’s great taleHow’d he see this monster so well?It’s pouring rain!The hound’s insane!Bloody knees? broken jaws? and holes in its hands?
Tall as his tale was I was intriguedThis monster sounded strangeand it sounded mean
I asked the next dog about the shriveled white fiend with bloody knees
This little pup was Jabber A good dog but quite a panicker Jabber be startled by everythinga little blue bird, the sun too high, or grass too green
He was shakin’ the most out of the three
Well I…. uah… I KNOW What I saw!And that thing was mean… a nasty white thing with bloody knees!
Big Black barkedO hush now Jabber! You didn’t see nothing You took straight off running before we even seen the damn thing comin!
That pup Jabber had no replyjust sat in the wet rain dirt and lie
I couldn’t tell youif it was fearor the wet cold but I was shakin nowin my bonesmy skin felt ailinga white covering
I had big ol’ frightened eyes
I buckled and felt weak I hit the ground and my knees started to bleed
I looked at the last dog
He was a quiet oneHis name was TruthHis eyes were black the kind of black that went so far back far beyond his skull
I looked at him now wonderin’
Why these three ol’ dogs are shakin’ in their suits
What’s wrong ol’ dog! What’d you see!
Well ma, we saw a shriveled white thinglookin’ real beat up n’ mean Truth just sat thereI could barely look him in the eyes
I lowered my head to my hands to cry and saw straight through them
my tears fell through the holes into mud
Look at your knees ma
I looked down at my kneesred and bone
you don’t look so good maOld Truth saidI knew he wasn’t lyin’ and I knew I wasn’t dead
I trusted my old dog and he was the only one A monster I was