MIXED METAPHOR (INSPIRATIONAL HYMN)
by Aaron A. Abeyta
now this poem has got to be read
with a voice down low
like a guitar string way outta tune
then she’ll sound good
read good
and the pen will burn through the pulp
it’s like driving way too fast
you build it up until you’re going
a hundred and forty three
and your head can’t be pulled
from the seat cover
your eyes peeled to the horizon
your hands dripping poetic juices
on the page interspersed with blood
and it tastes good
real good
the girl to your right
she screams for more
more of those words that leave her tangled
until she explodes in our palm
and the car goes wrong
you struggle with the wheel
her mechanized hips
they sway and they tail
and it just ain’t right
so you drive until the road turns black
and you begin to think
think think harder
as the rubber burns in your soul
gripping for idle asphalt
it goes on and on
like a tick and a tick and a tick and a tock
until you get it right
and it feels good again
real good
like that original chord
and the girl comes back
strong as a trooper
and she wants to see your poetic license
[from Colcha]
* * *
From the introduction to a fine interview with Aaron Abeyta:
Abeyta received his MFA from Colorado State University and currently teaches at Adams State College. Abeyta is the recipient of the 2001 Colorado Book Award and the 2002 American Book Award. Other awards include a fellowship from the Colorado Council on the Arts and a Grand Prize from the Academy of American Poets.
Abeyta has work published in An Introduction to Poetry (10th ed.), Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, & Drama (8th ed.), The High Country News, The Dry Creek Review, S.O.M.O.S., Mountain Gazette, Chokecherries, Colorado Central Magazine, and various other journals. He lives in Antonito, Colorado, where he can be close to his roots and family.