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Clarise Samuels
Among the Beasties
Among the Beasties by Clarise Samuels
here in this dreamy landscape
where the mist hides the dragons
i can sleep beside the monsters
because they do not notice me
i can sulk and brood to my heart's content
but what is it to them?
they are ferocious when provoked
but have no power when they are bored
and that explains why they are so inconsistent
even if i stand on my toes
with one thin strap fallen off my shoulder
so that my breasts are fully exposed
and then tap them on the head
they are oblivious
and will leave me alone
unless i pique their interest in a certain light
when my skin looks radiant in the sun
and then the beasties might fall in love
and sob all night with the pain
and beg me to do the same
but what is it to them?
they don't even know who i am
they think that i'm Eve in Paradise
and they're back in the Garden of Eden
it was not my fault—they wished for it
until they changed their mind
for they prefer their exquisite boredom.
Clarise Samuels holds a Rutgers Ph.D. in German Literature (1990) and has published poetry, articles, translations, and one scholarly work on the poetry of the German-Jewish poet Paul Celan. Her unpublished novel Loving Brynhild is based on Norse and Germanic mythology, combining well-known elements from legend and myth with philosophy, religion, and feminism.
- published
Published in The New Orphic Review, Vol. 8 (No. 2) Fall, 2005, pp.36-38.
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