Ghost of the Pelvis

Hello
Tundra
of the
Lungs

you’re whistling
through
me


Hello
Ghost
of the
Pelvis

you’ve come to sob
at my
Windows
and Doors


Hello
Chambers
of the
Heart

you are collapsing


A Friend lost a Friend
to your Army

which charged
the Capillaries

and burst out the Fingers
and Breasts


If I were to live as you
push me

I would become Some One
People mistrust :

your Needs are Ravenous as a Junkie’s


I would lose my Friends


I would lose my Job


and I would lose my Family


to a Marriage
made
in Desperation

or a Succession
of Men

pursued

and consumed

to treat
a Wound


None has had the Strength for


Gaping


Reasonless


So Grotesque

it’s Selfish


A Shame as Big as this Country


I want to give Respect
and have it
returned
to me

Neglected

I swallow
my Self

and grow up
Twisted
inSide my Own

Slut's

Guts

Quebec Myth

When I was 12 and living in Quebec, I envisioned and wrote the 1st Book- called Magna Dreamcatcher- of a Fantasy Trilogy whose Plot I condensed, at 20, into this Poem. The "Adult" Elements of this Story were inFact Present in my prePubescnent Imagination, which says SomeThing about me, I guess, and would Most Likely xplain Andrea Coates' Troublesome Youth Poems, a Collection of Poems written by me btween the Ages of 13 and 18




There 1ce was a Lady
married to the Devil

who had SpiderWeb Wings
and a Dress of Black Hate

whose Sister was a Nun
who to stop the Lady's
Voracious Appetite
trapped her Evil Sister
inSide her Good Heart

I was born from their merging
Good in Ambition but Evil in Lust

I grew up in a Boarding School
but when I got Jiggy to the outSide World
I wouldn’t let the Professors hold me in anyLonger

Free, I made Money as a Teenage Tramp
and called mySelf a Fugitive on the Lam

In my travels I met and made Friends
With the Colors
Red
Yellow
Blue
Indigo
Violet
and Orange
who had command over Natural Formations

That’s how I learned I was Green
FlowerPower
and was recruited to help fight Destruction

One Battle I became so Furious
The Devil's Wife burst out my Flesh
encased me in Tendrils of Cruel Black Smoke
and replaced her Body where Mine had been

Free at Last she smiled
and reduced the Forest to Bits
with a Cackle that made the Colors' Ears Ring

When she tired herSelf out
she was sucked back in
which left me
clutching my Heart and writhing in the Moss

After that, EveryTime I was provoked
the Lady got a Chance to Voice her Rage
at the Audacity of her Detention

In Torn Black Skirts and Tall Black Boots
a Look of Delight on her Grecian Face
she crushed Skeletons with her Gaze
and set Forests Ablaze

The Colors were considerate of my Volatility
and they benefited from the Strength of the Devil’s Queen-
They used her to defeat Black Magnet
and a LeopardPrint Brat who commanded an Army of Orphans
who claimed she was my Sister, for Power or for Fun
and became White Rainbow who could control Emotions

But EveryTime she got out my Heart
the Lady grew Stronger and Craftier
and I Finally agreed I had to Split
for the Better of my Friends’ Ambitions

I kicked Stones down the Road for Innovation
and sang my Lot to the Land

The Reply came in Torrents like Rain
from the Wide Black Starry Sky:
to dancing in Pubs then! And drinking a Lot!
NeverMind the Odd Entendre, I’d embrace
for Gold and Glory
Vodka and Rum
But if the Men pissed me off
with Stereotypes
and Lies
in my Rage I’d transform
into that Catlike Priestess of the Doom
who’d drink their Souls like Ambrosia
so Fine

From Bush Parties here to Dive Joints there
I wandered while the Lady's Legend pushed me from behind
I took to wearing LargeBrimmed Hats
and Necklaces to distract from my Face
I heard Stories in the shouting of Men over Pool:
“The Devil’s Wife! She’s haunting the Good-Old-Boys!”
“That’s only a Myth. She’s just a Right Regular Whore!”
I kept my Mouth Shut, seated at the Bar
ordered my Whiskey and Rum, Vodka or Beer
toasted to my Fate
and slammed down my Empty Glass

Sulking back to my Inn One Time
a Young Lady with a Lad
that peeked from behind her Stockinet Legs
said she could turn into the Planets
and the Boy was had learned to Fly
from Martial Artists
in the slums of Caracas

The Planets said she had been called on to banish the Devil’s Daughter
my Lady's Daughter
who wore a Moose’s Skull over her Head
and was causing Chaos in the North

The Planets had spoken to the Colours, and thought I might be willing to help
catch my Lady’s Daughter
to banish her from this 3Dimensional Place

I thought, since when have I turned down an Adventure?
and joined her on her Quest

We found my Daughter, the Sneaky Thing
and contended with her Sinister Tricks
and Spells
and sent her to the Land
where 4Sided Triangles and Negative's Square Roots
tumble through the Ether

The Planets then became the Sun
as her Final Incarnation
and brought me with her to Montreal
where she had New Duties to assume

We lived together in a Loft
where we organized Guerrilla Raids
on reOccurring Decay

But 1Day as I walked through Park LaFontaine
troubling over my Heart
A Young Man saw me and stopped

I was amazed he had Such Fine Eyes
he asked me what my Problem was
and told him he couldn’t understand
he said, "Oh yeah?"
and I said “There's a Lady who lives inSide me.
I cannot let her out or she will try to eat you”

but he was Only Further intrigued

The Man acquainted himself with the Sun
who recognized he was the Moon
and asked him to join our Crew

The Moon was a Political Science Major
and dressed like he knew Horror
and I was in love with him
but noThing could occur
as I could not entice the Lady

Still the Moon flirted with Great Skill
and under the Pressure
I snapped
making the Nun and the Lady Separate again

The Lady said to the Moon, “Darling come with me
I know you're of the Night
and the Centre of your Soul is Black”
The Moon, he said it was
transformed into a Vampire
and the 2 of them eloped

The Good Sister was Autistic
and retreated to solve the Problem with
math
and Suddenly the Sun
was pinched without her Crew

The Lady and her Consort
danced and made love
and shocked both High and Low Cultures
bringing the Devil out from hiding
Jealousy interrupting his Plots to kill his Brothers
God and the Muse

Now the Sun was able to appeal to the Logic of the Moon
“You want to keep your Lady?
You’ll help me”
He agreed and they and sent the Devil into Xile
where his Daughter was
btween Time and Space

Meanwhile, in her Cloister, the Sister solved her Proof
She fucks, she loves, she needs to rest
and the Lady was recaptured

So the Moon and I moved to Northern Abitibi
where I learned about the Woods
grew my Hair in DreadLocks
and bore him Several Children
a Pink Haired Daughter
and 2 Wolves for Sons
who roamed about the Boreal
and soon got that Look in their Eyes