Reptile charms
Reptile charms
By Marie Gordon
Your cool breath hovers
Over shaking prey
Your deep voice whispers
Of gruesome fates
Green-eyed mirrors beam
Frames in shiny strands
Deriving smooth greed
From mousy sweats
And trembling beads drip
While glossy claws grin
How weak is the heart
That pulsates pleas
How strong is the smile
That breeds off cold flesh
Jagged and silky
The reptile’s charms
1 Comment so far
Leave a reply
Anthropomorphism is not usually a quality that lends itself to good poetry. But, as usual, Ms. Gordon is the exception, whether it is a reptile or her beloved chinchillas; all are potential subjects of poetry.
“How strong is the smile
That breeds off cold flesh” is a wonderful line of poetry.
The only flaw is the allusion to “mousy sweats.” I have no idea what that is, or means, and it detracts from what is an unusually good poem on an unusual kind of subject. I prefer when she writes about people, about love misplaced, or unreciprocated, but an occasional foray into something out of the ordinary, like this poem, is an occasional worthwhile break. It also makes her reach as a poet into uncharted territory, and that is almost always a good exercise.