Empty Seductions

By Gary Glauber

Found within the squalor of mindlessness

she struts proudly, walking down a cascade

of elegant column-bordered steps

& front & center, sings, “Hallelujah,”

stretching the phrase to infinite syllables

with a sweet songbird’s voice.

Her satin blouse drinks in the spotlight

to project this striking neon color

that fills our eyes with luster,

our hearts with restless mirth,

as if sharing a fantastic secret,

a lyrical snippet of wisdom for eternity.

 

Since the Roman age

such performances have fueled desire,

provided the necessary delusion  

that so much more exists than

our daily ugliness, the quiet despair

of our mundane routines, the spinning

wheel that slows & shows fate

pointing to a wandering reality in decline.

 

The occasional neighborhood death

scares us, reminds of the tenuous nature

of this whispered existence. Now & then

a siren punctuates this stream of

clean shaven men & handsomely dressed women

en route to a universe of sundry paid labors,

where beauty hides unrecognized,

given no proper framework in which to thrive,

no comprehension that a little tenderness

might someday save us all.  

 

How strange to be alive,

to taste these succulent ripe plums

& surf through endless channels,

seeking some glimpse of entertainment

to arrest time & lift us from

exhaustion, pain, & common complaints

to a higher dream that

carries us away from class toil,

delivers us from our own impatience.

Gary Glauber is a poet, fiction writer, teacher, and former music journalist.  His works have received multiple Pushcart Prize and Best of the Net nominations. He champions the underdog to the melodic rhythms of obscure power pop. His two collections, Small Consolations (Aldrich Press) and Worth the Candle (Five Oaks Press), and a chapbook, Memory Marries Desire (Finishing Line Press), are available through Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and directly from the publishers.