Thursday, April 07, 2011

A Poem whose Title I'll put in the Body of the Post

You Can Say Fuck to Me

You can say fuck to me.
You can say fuck this bloody life of delicate children
You can whisper about fucking the way it was
When the moon came down to breathe on your shoulder
You can say how the fuck did it come to this
that your breasts don't match and what you buy
for sixty grand is a piece of paper
you never wanted to see. Fuck.

You can say fuck it's so beautiful
even if it's only what you saw
in what I saw in what he saw
when all we saw was the words:
what's not fucking beautiful there?

You can say fuck me knowing you don't mean it;
You can say fuck you knowing you do.
Who cares, fuck! We, you and I,
we've been around the block;
we know what things cost.

15 comments:

Michelle said...

Fucking brilliant. x

Lucy said...

Sorry Dale, I know it's serious but I ended up laughing because I remembered one of those pre-internet circulated lists of funnies which was celebrated uses of the word from history, and the only one I can remember was King Harold at the Battle of Hastings, whose last words were 'Watch him, he'll have some fucker's eye out!'.

I use it quite freely in speech, find it difficult to write, can't comfortably use it for the act.

It's a splendid poem.

Dale said...

Aw, thank you, Michelle.

Hee! I love it, Lucy.

I don't believe in ever leaving the laughter behind. You'll just need to go back for it later :-)

PurestGreen said...

I imagine a couple who have known each other forever and all the barriers between words have gone. Fucking love it.

Anne said...

Great poem. I think you're on a roll. I laughed, too. I think you can laugh at something serious.

Terrific title, too.

Dale said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Dale said...

Thanks so much, Sophia & Anne! Yes, it's about that kind of intimacy, when you just don't need fences any more.

Joyce Ellen Davis said...

Hehehe Well, I Have said it (in private), and it doesn't bother me to read it, but (old fashioned girl that I am), I still feel a little prissy to WRITE it (tho' I have on occasion when no other word would fit)!

Actually, I used asshole (which is much worse IMO) a few times in Pepek, then, in a fit of remorse removed it, then restored it....

Go figure. :D

Joyce Ellen Davis said...

PS Thought it was a great poem.

Dale said...

The valences of these words are very unstable, and have a lot of regional variation. I'm not surprised this would land a little differently in Utah! And I am -- seriously, not jesting -- sorry if I've offended anyone. I hesitated a lot about posting this!

Dick said...

Love it. Just right.

I'm a little disappointed that no one's taken offence. I did a post a year or so back on the words 'fuck' and 'cunt' and was surprised at the breadth of reaction.

Shanna Germain said...

Fucking lovely!

carolee said...

in New York we say fuck all we want. well, i do anyway. :)

it's a great word in my opinion. and a great poem, too!!

Uma said...

Oh this made me laugh so much. Now I will not blow my top when my son uses the word:) Will you believe me if I tell you that even 'Damn' is a No No for me! Loved the poem Dale.

Kristen McHenry said...

"Fuck" is such an all-around great word, and you've put it to excellent, and elegant use here. The underlying raw emotions in this poem really come through. I love it!