Two Poems by Linda Imbler

 

The Bone Shop

 

Collectors lurch up a set of narrow, dark stairs.

Within their chests they feel a hot wave of desire,

to procure one or more of these vendibles.

 

There’s stark sensations skeletons feel without their former cover,

the body’s framework on display, 

now deposed from the seats of the wealthy only by death.

 

These were not the fallen,

nor the ignored.

 

These were those who walked grand halls

in affluent mansions,

ones once dressed in satin,

who strode carrying sapphire handbags,

and pearl handled walking sticks.

 

Enthusiasts can spend one whole evening sifting through skulls,

upon which sits the sweetness of vanity.

 

Shoppers can spend one whole evening

scrutinizing the singular beauty of various limbs,

to find the best rarities.

 

Some hobbyists prefer scrounging through 

the grouped league of broken parts in a bin,

considering the detailing of fatigue for the older bones.

 

All evaluating the incontestable beauty of the eggshell and alabaster surfaces,

hoping the ownership of at least one item

may bring a bit of luck toward accruing their own prosperity.

 

Andromeda

 

For me, my fate was always to get eaten,

A princess born in Ethiopia,

But Perseus and I were never beaten,

Despite the brag of Cassiopeia.

 

I, Greek, long ago set up to be victimized,

By the sea monster Cetus, whale-like beast,

My once chained maiden’s myth now crystalized,

My body, mind, and soul unleashed. 

 

Examples of Linda Imbler's poetry and a listing of publications can be found at lindaspoetryblog.blogspot.com.  When not writing, Linda is an avid reader, classical guitar player, and a practitioner of both Yoga and Tai Chi.  In, addition, she helps her husband, a Luthier, build acoustic guitars.  She lives in Wichita, Kansas, U.S.A.  She enjoys her 200-gallon saltwater reef tank wherein resides her 21 year old yellow tang.  Linda’s published paperback poetry collections include Big Questions, Little Sleep, Big Questions, Little Sleep: Second Edition, Lost and Found, Red Is The Sunrise, and Bus Lights, Travel Sights: Nashville and Back. 

She has four e-books published by Soma Publishing;  The Sea’s Secret Song, Pairings, which is a hybrid ebook of short fiction and poetry, That Fifth Element, and Per Quindecim. Linda has been nominated for a Pushcart Prize and has five Best Of The Net nominations.