50 Shades of Blood

[Eric Ashford]

1..A rusty door-nail leaks a drying crust.
2..The taint of copper pennies.
3.Salt licking the scars of the unhealed.
4..A sunset burning dry corn.
5.Eyes bruised by anger.
6.Lips cut by stinging words.
7.Money burning holes in red letter days.
8.A fledglings mouth bleeding hunger.
9.The abrasions of fiery passions.
10.The plasma of inflamed desires.
11. Poinsettia’s in a snow storm.
12. Droplets of deep regret.
13. Squashed cherries, red berries, and ladybugs.
14. Clawing finger-nails.
15. A surgeons restless dreams.
16. Iron oxide in ferrous rocks.
17. A bull, a matador, and a slashing fear.
18. The breath of a bucking bronco.
19. Poppies thriving on a battlefield..
20. The face-paint of warriors
21. The face paint of the murdered.
22. The skull stomping feet of Kali.
23. Daily pinpricks.
24. A wet dagger in the dark.
25. Prints in a crime scene.
26. The blushing snorts of a wounded deer.
27. The prayers of a sorcerer.
28. Hands washing away guilt.
29. The chaotic splatter of magic.
30. A thought tied to revenge.
31. The spurts of feeding frenzies.
32. Gills caught in unbreathable air.
33. The dark secrets of vino veritas.
34. Rubies bathed by candle light.
35. An aroused areola and nipple.
36. The pulse of a clitoris.
37. Sandstone at sunset.
38. The nightshade luster of tomato skins.
39. A bad moon rising.
40. The froth and suds of a punctured lung.
41. The tears of a Sufi poem.
42. Menstrual flow in the time of the moon.
43. The eyes of a night hunting cats.
44. A mime artists poking a tongue.
45. The lining of a dictators coffin.
46. The simmering heat of fevers.
47. Reflections in a sleepless eye.
48. The body heat of love.
49. Birth and the open womb.
50. The end and beginning of all that live.

[Dave]

I am sure everyone can find sentences they love here, I know I can but in the end it is what it is, a list. Kate Bush did the same thing with snow but with the benefit of music - might be worth a thought, which music would you choose.
Among my favourites: The nightshade luster of tomato skins.

[indar]

"First flush" reaction: 1, 4, 7, 15, 32, 37, 38, 44, 49.

Music as per Dave's suggestion:

"Heart Strings" - Tenzin Choegyal & Philip Glass's soundtrack to THE LAST DALAI LAMA? - YouTube

Strange how other's poetry always seems to fit with one or another of Glass' pieces. Maybe I just want people to listen to his work.

List poems always seem raw material, ripe for further development. This one certainly set me off in a thousand directions.

[TrevorConway]

Hi Eric,

This is a nice exercise in writing interesting lines with imaginative imagery. Not so fond of it when presented as a finished poem. I'd suggest picking out the highlights (based on your own preferences) and working them into a poem that has some sense of development of theme, something to say in relation to blood or to seeing things in this way, or even a poem about using one's imagination to see the world differently.

Thanks for sharing,

Trev

[Eric Ashford]

Hi Dave I would choose 'windows by Phillipe Glass. Yes in the end and the beginning it is a list poem.
Thanks for the neat review.

[Eric Ashford]

Hi Indar,
I have write on ly a few list poems they turn out to be slow evolving creatures. Wrote this a couple of days ago, and I am sure it will be a changing thing as I edit and fiddle with it for months to come.
Yes, i'm familiar with Glass and his oeuvre, strange how minimalist music seems to fit this kind of work!
Obliged to you.

[Eric Ashford]

Hi Trev,
a 'list' poem is a special kind of art form. It should (if it works at all), induce the reader to want to add new thoughts on a
an extending theme. That's its main purpose as far as I can tell.
Cheers mate.