Thursday, July 07, 2005

Turbidophilia

this is an audio post - click to play



Turbidophilia
— love of trouble

Pleasure, ease, contentment: a bore.
Where’s the rub? The snafu? The glorious glitch?
Tiff. Tizzy. Tumult. To-do. Remember:
no itch, no fuss: no pearls to string.

Feud, fit, flap, flurry.
Hoopla. Imbroglio. Rhubarb. Pickle.
What good’s a shampoo without lather?
Soup unstirred? Wedding without a row?

I want spasm, spat, squabble, stink.
Brouhaha. Boondoggle. Conniption. Clash.
Calm’s as good as dead: a plum-pit.
Give me ruckus, rowdydow, ruffle, snit.


originally appeared in Poetry, September 2003

7 comments:

Sculpin said...

So much fun to read aloud.

It reminds me of a word I like, "siserara", which Mrs. Byrne's Dictionary defines as "a severe blow or violent reproach". Somehow the meaning got twiddled in my mind to mean an angry fuss, something between a foofaraw and a brouhaha, so that's how the word gets occasionally (mis)used in my house.

Peter said...

Thanks Sculpin: It's a little weird to read a poem over the phone, and the quality of the transmission isn't great. But it was fun to try.
I love "siserara" and "foofaraw." Great words.

Unknown said...

wow! i thought the poem sounded really good!--even with the phone thing being a little strange to get used to. very nice!

Emily Lloyd said...

Peter: great to hear you. And I love "rowdydow," gotta remember that one. Fantastic, and now I want to go work up an obscene amount of lather in the shower tonight.

LKD said...

Oh, Peter, what a good, good poem---and what a good, good reading. There's a kindness, a gentleness in your voice that also shines through in your face, in your smile. Gosh, I'm glad I stopped by tonight to hear this.

Patty said...

What a wonderful reading! More!

rowdydow reminds me of a word my friend Donna used one day when talking to my dogs. It's rootypoot. Whenever I say it to my pups they go nuts and run in circles. They're not right.

Peter said...

Thanks J, E, L, P: glad you enjoyed it. Post an audio of one of yours?