Tuesday, March 3, 2015

Three Poems by Cristine A. Gruber


Mystery
 
 
I had
that dream
again, the one
with the broken
mirror and the seven
bottles of beer. I figure
the damaged glass suggests
I struggle to see myself for
who I really am, but the
quantity of beer remains
a bit of a mystery,
for I’ve never
been able
to drink
more
than
two.
 
  
 
Woodbridge

 
Lost in the anomalous,
mislaid in creativity’s hold, 
dancing with the Woodbridge,
the surest way to grasp the characters
that make the pulp so very vibrant. 
 
Crimson, viridian, cobalt, magenta…  
not shades of the rainbow,
but colors of the storm.  
The gale of life meets
the tempest of creation 
in deeper, varied signals
of the squall. Deepest
moments of color,
just before the lids
turn pitch black,
only pulsating
dots remaining
for escape. 
 
Forever
knowing the veracity
of the Woodbridge, yet
drawn to it none-the-less. Forever
inspiring, but for the shortage of time…
 
time to say good night
to perennial Woodbridge;
time to seek provisional peace
among the wedgewood blue
and the eggshell white.

 
                 *Woodbridge is a wine label 
 

 

Ravenous   
 
 
Two cups water,
half cup generic ketchup,
spoonful of expired sour cream,
small container of rancid guacamole,
two packets of hot sauce, the hotter the better,
and a dash of congealed onion powder,
found in the back of the cabinet,
hidden for more than three years.  
 
Mix well and simmer for twenty minutes,
the established time it takes
for hunger pangs to subside.
 
Pour in large mug and drink quickly,
the quicker the better,
so as not to think too hard
about the rancid guacamole.
 
Wash down with two large cups
of very strong coffee,
brewed from a three-day filter.
 
 
 
Cristine A. Gruber has had work featured in numerous journals, including: North American Review, Writer’s Digest, California Quarterly, Dead Snakes, Endicott Review, The Homestead Review, Iodine Poetry Journal, Miller’s Pond, Napalm and Novocain, The Penwood Review, Pound of Flash, Pyrokinection, Red River Review,  The Tule Review, Wilderness House Literary Review, and The Write Place at the Write Time. In 2014, her short stories, "Imprisoned," and "Stash," both received Honorable Mentions in the Writers Weekly 24-Hour Short Story Competition. Cristine's first full-length collection of poetry, Lifeline, is available from Amazon.com. More of Cristine’s work can be found and enjoyed at http://sierraviewjournal.blogspot.com/
 

2 comments:

  1. Great poems, Christine! Love "Mystery" ( I can really identify with this one!) and the imagery in "Woodbridge," and "Ravenous" took me completely by surprise! Nice work!

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