Friday, May 21, 2010

Mix me a fixer upper

He's part artist, part alchemist,
but a full-on con, self-professed with post-
graduate degrees in mixology
and the god-given sense to know which
smoldering home remedies will catch fire
(give or take an occasional legal glitch).

His healing pitch is grifted on the easy
comparison of queasily lowered brows to
their indistinctly raised betters. You'll doff
the scoffing face as he pulls back a masking
caparison, and your fever gallops hotly
hoof-in-mouth with an uncontrollable itch.

Tinctures, colloids, salves and potions,
they all have twisty caps, blithe boxes
bubbling over with hypnotic patterns
fashioned to cure your urge to avoid
his futility. First'll come the fondle, then
the crumple followed by purse strings loosening.

Don't consider it capitulation.
His assortment of fluid manipulations
bear a singular branding at 100 proof,
and after the recommended daily dosing
(two jiggers with each meal), you'll feel
you're homo erectus made sapient.

10 comments:

Jenny said...

Words, animated images and sounds with a focused lashing quality. The undertones in your poems often seem to be brewing mischief; I like that a lot. As always, I love your sense of humor.

Anders said...

Wonderful poem. Seems like a good degree for interesting folks.

Unknown said...

I think I’m in love! (And that’s just the problem with me.)
Great post!

Jeremy Blomberg said...

very fun and witty poem...reminds me of some of our current alchemists on wall street.

human being said...

homo erectus MADE sapient...

and all those descriptions tell us beautifully HOW...
:)

mix to fix... hmmm... this can be sometimes risky resulting in


homo erectus made serpent...
:D


that was a great work of humor (i have the two meanings of the word in mind as we are a mix of humors too)...
:)

Megan Duffy said...

I'm really liking all the sound combinations you've been making lately. Really cool.

Anonymous said...

I agree with Megan that your sounds are great. Like an improvational orchestra of various unusual cool instruments. You are the poetic wizard to me.

Francis Scudellari said...

@Jenny I brew mischief only because I can't brew beer ;).

@Ande It's a degree that's both practical and alluring.

@lesinfin Love's never a problem :).

@Sean Yeah, the quality of the sales pitch means just as much there.

@hb you are keen to the alchemical ways... getting the humors balanced is the key.

@Megan Thanks, I'm been trying to focus more on rhyming, though not in the conventional ways.

@PO Thanks my friend. Wizardry is something I've always aspired to.

Thomas Sheridan said...

Wow I love this! Not only because it reads so well but also because I am currently writing a book on Art and Alchemy. So a bit of synchonicity too.

Francis Scudellari said...

I've always been fascinated by alchemy, so I'd been interested in reading that one.