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description= Poems, stories and rants by writer Julie Buffaloe-Yoder;
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the, by, stories, in, she, michelle, mcgrane, buffaloe, and, somewhere, these, woods, rosalee, poetry, suitable, girl, on, when, john, dee, holeman, plays, blues, pen, poems, rants, writer, julie, yoder, teaches, me, about, world, tweaks, while, bleeds, big, barbie, pindrop, press, listen, to, her, walks, water, questions, black, white, ray, tips, of, their, fingers, story, quilt, line, between, mark, durfee, sometimes, little, mania, is, good, thing, manic, merry, christmas, happy, new, year, five, dollars, four, kids, short, pages, archives, categories, blogroll, resources,
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Text of the page (random words):
from the pile and holds it under the water mister she brings the strawberry to her mouth and slowly closes her thick glossy lips around it juice drips on her chest and trickles down between her cleavage i can literally hear every man in the store gulp an old lady humphs and walks away now lesson number whatever to hell with the bitches don t worry about what they think they re bitches so go ahead bite the big apple it belongs to you not them she points at a pyramid of deep red apples shining under the lights i stand there staring like a dunce not knowing what she wants me to say i pick up a cucumber and some bananas and put them in my cart phhhhht you re a hopeless case rosalee hisses she grabs the largest apple she can find and sinks her strong white teeth into its flesh she plops the apple back on the stack rosalee ignores me now and starts filling her cart with fruit and vegetables tossing aside the ones she doesn t want she flings radishes she flicks through grapes she swats sweet potatoes out of her way neatly arranged displays quickly turn into a huge slushpile of mixed up pears oranges and lettuce kiwis and mangoes bounce from their stacks and roll across the floor she doesn t bother to pick them up when rosalee gets what she wants we make our way to the register she pulls a wad of coupons out of her purse and shoves them at the cashier the girl looks puzzled none of the coupons match what rosalee has chosen the girl glances at the other cashiers and they all bob their heads even though i know better i believe it too yes her coupons are good yes yes yes rosalee swipes her card to pay she sashays out the door her ass swaying like a wordsworth ballad three bag boys fall all over themselves to be the one to push her cart i pay full price my cucumber s got a mark on it as if somebody stuck it with a fingernail a couple of my bananas are starting to bruise i thank the cashier who says nothing and thumps my stuff into a plastic bag at least i didn t faint i limp back to the corvette and rosalee s standing there with the car doors open and the air condition blasting she looks bored the boys carefully load her bags into the trunk i can t wait to get home and forget this day never again will i let rosalee talk me into something i m mad at myself for being so gullible this was just one more way for rosalee to show off and make me look like the fool that i am i take off my pumps large white blisters have formed on the sides of my toes i crouch down to touch them i wince and gently rub the skin around the blisters i glance up rosalee s standing there with her hands on her hips i see the strangest thing maybe it s the light maybe it s a weird angle i can t believe my eyes rosalee has a thick wisp of coarse black hair under her chin another image flashes into my brain drunk bukowski farting in the bathtub bubbles rise to the surface of the puke gray water and pop why didn t i see rosalee s beard before she s my cousin and i notice everything else i notice mold on the sidewalk i notice pores on faces i notice tree bark ants good lord i notice baby ants i study rosalee some more even her profile sort of looks like buk she s got a little roll of pudge around the gut i ll be damned i look a little closer there are varicose veins on her legs rosalee sees me staring at her she glares at me her eyes dare me to question her beauty i have no right she doesn t question herself ever she swings her hips and slides easily into the driver s seat maybe i m just jealous maybe the heat is getting to me i stand up and shake my head i do feel dizzy bukowski fades away and rosalee returns i must have been hallucinating rosalee is a goddess i feel like a toad when i plop down next to her rosalee revs up the corvette before i know it we re flinging rocks on our way out of the parking lot that woman s got talent and all the best peaches in the store note a friend asked me to whip up a little response to updike s short story a p we love updike s story for many reasons and in no way am i comparing my response to his story after all i m not rosalee but i thought it would be fun to share have a truly beautiful day posted in fiction poetry tagged a p fiction poetry short story updike 30 comments she tweaks while she bleeds march 11 2011 by julie big barbie has black plastic trash bags taped over the windows in her single wide trailer three hundred pounds of triple d axle grease big barbie s got a tattoo of a dead cop on her ass short white spike hair black boots tunnels in her ears she rides naked on her harley in the middle of the night big barbie knows pipes transmissions belts better than any damn man she likes to play rough with pretty little dolls knock off their heads and leave them laying in a dumpster behind angel mae s bar she s got the best acid in chatham county don t go to big barbie s unless you ve got cash but once a month when her pipes get funky she sits by the window and thinks about how her stepfather raped her she thinks about the baby those bastards took away big barbie cuts her arm with a rusty razor tweaks while she bleeds into black plastic space julie buffaloe yoder this poem originally published in don t call me plath posted in poetry tagged a rough life character poetry voice 27 comments the suitable girl by michelle mcgrane february 25 2011 by julie cover image istockphoto com chuckschugphotography the suitable girl by michelle mcgrane pindrop press the suitable girl wears many faces she is mythic and she is contemporary she mourns she is sensual she walks on water i felt like a kid at christmas when my copy of the suitable girl arrived in the mail i know michelle mcgrane is an excellent poet because i m a big fan of her work but this book even surpassed my expectations edited by jo hemmant of pindrop press the poems in the suitable girl are beautiful and powerful the often startling images are sharp and unique this collection of poems offers so much variety whether you are interested in shorter pieces or prose poems mythic voices or modern day scenes you will find it all in the suitable girl as a poet i cannot help but marvel at michelle mcgrane s technique her stanzas are well measured but don t feel forced her poems are musical and she echoes sound throughout entire pieces the narrator s voice is different in every poem from a straight talking beat style to elegant prose that rolls across the page but i ll try not to bore you with my urge to give a nerdy technical analysis listen to her stories you will meet madame bovary in this book as well as black oak s daughter there is also the story of glauce s bridal robe poisoned by medea the bee man tells a story in eleven succinct lines the suitable girl even sends postcards from the moon the voices in this collection are strong the dialect in terra marique potens is fantastic the narrator is a force to be reckoned with powerful on land and sea she gives birth aboard ship and then fires a muzzle at a flinty crag of a man bawling like the divil hisself all of the poems in the suitable girl are excellent some of the stories are heartbreaking in skin offerings the narrator describes a young woman s anorexia and self mutilation 4 00 am tells the powerful story of a young mother who is battling for life she leaves her mud hut to walk twelve kilometres to a government clinic for treatment she hums a hymn and wears a gaily patterned headscarf an astounding symbol of her unbreakable spirit other poems are humorous the escape artist a lord of the fleas runs off with the ringmaster s silver weimaraner one of my favorite shorter pieces is the recalcitrant muse who fires up a cigarette and could use a drink and a few hours sleep this muse is late for an appointment with a middle aged divorcée she is also a muse who realizes that immortality doesn t pay the bills did i say beautiful well take a look for yourself at the sample poem below the suitable girl has many faces sometimes she whispers her stories sometimes she speaks with her tongue in her cheek sometimes she screams each one of her voices should be read again and again she walks on water by michelle mcgrane the air is heavy with salt spray and kelp the seagull s tongue is dumb dark hair hides the face of the madonna on the beach hands like silver starfish lift a long skirt reveal pale knees a cerulean scarf flutters in the breeze she turns away from the promenade s ice cream smiles and waving kites shrugs off the dirty weekend hotel moored in the harbour s embrace her spirit becomes a sail her eyes are the horizon her bare white limbs shine with phosphorescence the stars lean over to plant kisses on her forehead in the morning haze wisps of fog drifting in with the waves she walks on water a blue strand washes up on the sand among splintered timbers plastic wrappings sodden cigarette butts perched on a guano stained mast the seagull keeps her secret the above poem and quotes are michelle mcgrane 2010 and used with permission please contact pindrop press or the author for permission before reposting from pindrop press michelle mcgrane was born in zimbabwe in 1974 spent her childhood in malawi and moved to south africa with her family when she was fourteen her poetry has appeared in numerous journals and anthologies she is the author of fireflies blazing stars 2002 and hybrid 2003 she lives in johannesburg and blogs at peony moon to order the suitable girl click here it is well worth the low price posted in check it out michelle mcgrane peony moon pindrop press poetry tagged beauty excellent poetry gender jo hemmant michelle mcgrane pindrop press poetry power the suitable girl variety 23 comments questions in black white february 15 2011 by julie a couple of dear folks will worry so i should add a disclaimer with this one i wrote the original version of this poem when a loved one was first diagnosed with cancer that was years ago he s fine now all checkups continue to be good not everyone is so fortunate and we are no better than they are i only share these stories because i am thankful remembering is the least i can do to express my gratitude x ray julie buffaloe yoder it is the story of your life pinned on a screen your insides lit up discussed in hushed tones by a man who is late for a meeting he sees deficiency fissures cells you see your mother s red hands a river sliding past summer cabins mildewed faces on window screens shafts of sunlight through cracks on the day your daughter was born graduation caps unpaid bills a man drinking cold tea in an unlit room this is not the denouement you had written for yourself at a creaky midnight desk while counting the seconds between rumbles of thunder it is a lie too soon a white flash a pumping bloodroot a story with no resolution a black spot on a silent film the doctor clears his throat looks at the clock above the door and asks if you have any questions posted in poetry tagged diagnosis gratitude poetry uncertainty 25 comments stories on the tips of their fingers february 7 2011 by julie story quilt julie buffaloe yoder the women sew stories at sunset on the porch an old wicker basket full of fabric by their feet there s a square of green from the gingham dress a girl wore when she first kissed a boy by the river here s a gray head rag stained with sweat by a grandmother who plowed the jagged back of this black mountain those bits of blue denim are a father s overalls he lost a leg and died working the railroad that piece is from the wedding dress mother made with a white lace tablecloth this strip of yellow was a blanket dotted with brown circles of blood and covered a chicken feather mattress where babies were born four bright pink ribbons belonged to the twins who came out holding hands a red checked apron fed thirteen children with two catfish and three stale loaves each piece a meaning a patchwork of souls threaded together by generations of callused fingers on a front porch between live oaks and wisteria vines the lingering smell of warm cornbread from the oven gold and purple sunset stretched across the sky posted in poetry tagged culture family history folk art generations handmade heritage oral tradition poetry story quilt 28 comments the line between by mark c durfee january 27 2011 by julie i m excited to have a brand new book of poetry in my hands the line between by mark c durfee aka the walking man mark is my friend i m proud to tell you that because he is also a poet with a voice that is strong and honest mark s work comes from a place deep inside the bones always it is real the line between is the second book in mark durfee s trilogy from motor city burning press i m sure many people remember stink but on the off chance that you missed it be sure to check it out too you can read my take on stink here cover photo by justin harris the line between is not as dark as stink but it is equally as powerful while stink focuses on life in detroit the line between gives us the human condition not necessarily from a specific location but from the human heart the book has a haunting and beautiful cover by justin harris who is an amazing photographer of abandoned spaces the cover is a great complement to durfee s poetry which rises up like an echo of life as mark durfee describes on the first page of his book the line between is that line we all walk from birth to death sometimes the line is a zig zag sometimes it curves and takes us to places we never dreamed we d be the way we act and the people we touch while we re on the line is what matters the book is divided into sections which refer to different stages or lines and logically begins with children in the first section it might have been a wonderful life is a small powerful poem it reminds me of the horror in stink in that a mother places her baby in a microwave because she mistook you for the bottle she was going to feed you to shut you up with so she could go pass out again yet in the same section we see the beauty of childhood as in the piece small happiness where the narrator watches children who are holding hands and spinning they had just discovered the loveliness of being wondrously dizzy a poignant section of the book deals with the lines of age it contains the title poem which was inspired by the author s grandmother and is a gentle portrait of a family matriarch as she reaches the end of her life comforted by her cup of tea half gone cold now she dreams she has her chair turned towards the sun letting it warm her as she dozes snoring softly occasionally smiles in her early afternoon sleep as a poet i enjoy mark durfee s portraits of people i also appreciate his surprising twists of language and phrases eyes in the back of my head contains one such twist instead of just walking an edge the narrator walks along the knife s edge as really we all do i walk the knife s edge the honed side and am still amazed that my feet are not cut to ribbons with each step there s no way to truly do the book justice here because ma...
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