After María Negroni
The girl you are plays in taxi cabs in Cherokee Park.
Kentucky’s forests are filled with animals.
Spite is one of them.
I go beyond the block without permission while
scared to touch the family’s blue porcelain figurines.
I beg my mother for Battle-Armor He-Man
to fit with children that have no care for me.
I need no ornament. Mí swing es tropical.
We are the same today.
We break rules in persimmon light.
Pin me to the ground, punch me, take it, raise my cloud,
kiss me like a fool, your sister smashes down my brow.
That girl loves the world and throws rice at virgins.
11 thoughts on "After María Negroni"
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.
I like how “the girl” and “I” become the “we”. And that we break rules in persimmon light. And that raised cloud. How can you not love a girl who throws rice at virgins?
Another Manny poem, another punch in the gut.
“Kentucky’s forests are filled with animals.
Spite is one of them.”
“to fit with children that have no care for me.”
I am not familiar with Maria Negroni’s poetry, so I am sure I am missing some clues. Some subtleties infused from Spanish language probably as well.
Loved this poem anyway.
I have a question about the persimmon light. Is it an orange? Kaki or somewhere in between? My mind went for orange bright enough to contrast with the “blue porcelain figures.”
I envision it as a dirty orange look from what’s out there
I am echoing the comment that I don’t know Maria Negroni either, but I like this poem and agree about the line about spite being one of the animals in KY’s forests.
I love the near rhymes of ground/cloud/brow. These add some musicality to the poem, but…
Kentucky’s forests are filled with animals.
Spite is one of them.
Whew! This feels like a form of “universal truth,” but only whispered, secret.
I like the elliptical narrative and the surrealism. Your last line tells a story in and of its itself. I want to touch the family’s blue porcelain figurines. I want to play in taxi cabs in Cherokee Park.
Never broke one. My family did, not me.
persimmon light, throws rice at virgins, lots of great lines Manny
“persimmon light”
“Kentucky’s forests are filled with animals./Spite is one of them.”
Shew!! I love how these lines work in this poem–spare and impactful.
Wow, sparse and flush with imagery!
“The girl you are plays in taxi cabs in Cherokee Park.”
“Kentucky’s forests are filled with animals./”Spite is one of them.”
“That girl loves the world and throws rice at virgins.”
Many memorable bits here, Manny, “persimmon light” in particular. The way they fit together and cohere, or not, is challenging for me because my brain wants to make it all make sense and it can’t. That’s my problem, though, not yours. If it IS a problem.