A Spell to Turn Tigers into Butter

by Caligula's Launderette

Published October 18, 2006

In Poems

A Spell to Turn Tigers into Butter

all those fort building limbs
stuffed in mummy bags, purple
and blue larva, scrunched and
arched around the fire circle.

all those hand-picked earth stones(tomes)
melded white as fire - bambie antlered
poking sticks.

[how again do you stick butter to a tree?]

two bobbing eagle heads in a
nest atop a pine, swoop and glide
in the wind, grasping fish, suspended
above the sea.

o why did the fire die?
that pure-stygian splendor.

o for a Muse of fire, that
would melt away all the
tigers fighting to gobble themselves
up in the smoke.


*on a similar note, I'll give all my Whose Line points to the person who can point out where my title and allusions from the last stanza are from.

Comments & reviews · 7
User avatar
Incandescence
Review
Incandescence wrote a review Review · Dec 8, 2006

CL:


The problem with this (at least to my ear) can be summed up in a single word - voice. The speaker here presents him (or her, though based on the allusion I read, him)self as not simply a follower or master but as an annointed successor. That's all well and good, but what's here is a voice railing against the problems of injustice without adding anything that seems new.

It sounds both presumptuous and ridiculous.


Best,
Brad

For what it's worth, if you're going to try to pull such attempts off better in the future, you'd be well-advised to read Corso.

User avatar
Crysi
Review
Crysi wrote a review Review · Dec 8, 2006

Let's stick to actual reviews here, folks - it's okay to guess, but keep it as an afterthought. Reviews come first.

The title made me laugh - it reminded me of Harry Potter, when Ron is trying to turn his rat yellow.

The poem itself threw me off - maybe because I was expecting something humorous and instead got something mystical.

Your imagery was very interesting. However, I suppose I was thrown off a bit because the first stanza has a pretty set rhythm and rhyming pattern, but that all disappears.

I'm afraid the meaning is lost on me, dear. Maybe I'm still stuck on the title, but I couldn't get much more out of it than some sort of ritual and natural imagery.

Perhaps you could enlighten us, the less-intelligent readers? Then I'm sure we could give you better feedback on what worked and what didn't. :)

blackwings_angel wrote a review Review · Dec 8, 2006

that sounds cool but unfortunelty i have no idea what it means, wasnt some of those lines from Macbeth? Im not sure i never am :( i'll say something again once i figure this out

User avatar
bubblewrapped
Review
bubblewrapped wrote a review Review · Oct 19, 2006

"O for a Muse of Fire" is Shakespeare - Henry V. No idea about the tigers though O_O

On another note, a really interesting poem. It fit perfectly with my mood today even though I'm not really sure what it's about. So. Um. Kudos? LOL :)

pandoraswritings commented Comment · Oct 19, 2006

I have no idea.
Sorry!
Pandora

User avatar
lexy
Comment
lexy commented Comment · Oct 19, 2006

*shrugs*

None for me either x

User avatar
xanthan gum
Comment
xanthan gum commented Comment · Oct 18, 2006

*Blinks*

No points for me, then.



"While we may come from different places and speak in different tongues, our hearts beat as one."
— Albus Dumbledore