Spring 2010, Volume 8

Poetry by Kristi Ames

Bukowski, Banish the Bluebird

That damn Bluebird trapped in my heart—
I try to muffle his cries
with jaded scrawls and puffs
of cigarette smoke,
but he prevails
and shows his plumes
to every ear.
They all know
he’s
there.

I try to be tough.
I say, stay down,
do you want to mess
it up?
You wanna screw up the moment,
make me weak?
And so, I try
in vain
to silence the warbles of his beak.
 
That Bluebird in my heart
hides at night sometimes
when I dream, dead asleep.

I say, I know you're there,
don't be scared,
come out—sing.  Comfort me.
But the coward
never even lifts a wing.

Stupid fucking Bluebird!
He’s afraid of the dark.
And so, at night, we sleep together,
ignoring each other’s
cry.

 

BIO: Kristi Ames was Born in Salt Lake City, Utah but was happily transplanted to California when she was twelve. After years wasted in a gray cubicle, she came to Long Beach City College where she found her passion for writing. She is the mother of two boys, a full time student, and aspiring writer with no free time.