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Chasing COLAs in a Hard World
COLA: cost-of-living adjustment
We learned, each time we tried to file a claim,
_That dealing with the Demiurge Adjustor
_Takes all the fortitude that we can muster,
And that the ploy of reassigning blame
Is not a winning move within this game.
_The rulings handed down, despite our bluster,
_Seem purposely designed to thwart and fluster
Participants who lack sufficient shame.
It’s never been our hope to garner fame
_Like that of Shackleton or General Custer—
Enjoying justice is our only aim.
_We won’t be whisked by any feather duster
Back to the nether region whence we came,
_But this new habitat has lost its luster.
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Night Shift at the Dreamworks
Reinforcing the web of a dream
Is a non-indestructible seam
_Made of pliable leather
_And albatross feather
That’s been wilted in teakettle steam.
Where the flexible fabric is joined
In a theater vaulted and groined,
_Many colors are bleeding,
_Congealing or beading,
And the term “psychotechnics” is coined.
After logic and order break down,
You get lost in a nebulous town
_Where the longer you travel
_The more things unravel,
And the Bishop rolls dice with the Clown.
If you think you’re awake when you’re not,
And eidolons your neurons besot,
_Just remember that vision
_Begets imprecision
And that living out dreams is your lot.
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C.B. Anderson was the longtime gardener for the PBS television series, The Victory Garden. Hundreds of his poems have appeared in scores of print and electronic journals out of North America, Great Britain, Ireland, Austria, Australia and India. His collection, Mortal Soup and the Blue Yonder was published in 2013 by White Violet Press.
I love that you were able to stick to only two rhymes all the way through in COLA, and that you’ve managed to tackle an infuriating subject with a touch of humor.
As for “Dreamworks”,
Your finesse with the form of the limerick
Assures me that there is no gimmick.
For eidolon’s definition
I had to go fishing.
Your poem’s not one I could mimic.
For long, I’ve been trying to figure
Out whether you’re Eeyore or Tigger.
But, whichever (or neither,
Or other — oh, bother!)
Your work makes me both muse, and snicker!
By which I mean (I think), the unique thoughts that run their circuit through your extremely creative brain must be a bit like your portrayal of this theatre. The third verse is especially marvelous!
And I loved, Cynthia, that I found enough “uster” rhymes to complete the project. My intended subject was never governance by an unelected authority, but that the physical world (created by the Demiurge) has its own existential demands, which one ignores at his own peril.
The limerick form is a natural development from an original intention to write anapestic lines, so I just fell into it and necessarily had to continue in that mode. “Eidolon” was the result of looking for a metrically appropriate synonym.
I love both of these poems. The first shows how the requirements of rhyme can sometimes in themselves generate the most surprising and delightful content. And the set of limericks in the second — wow! What an amazing confection of details about the structure of dreams, and our difficulties in grasping them fully. Anderson is a true master of the English language.
K.A.N.D!
You are exactly right, Joseph, that rhyme sounds sometimes suggest a plausible narrative. Once I have settled on a sound I often make a list to see what the words suggest — this is especially so when I try to write a villanelle.
We don’t really grasp dreams — they simply grascbp us!
Your work is always sharply observant, C.B., and these two skillfully-crafted poems are no exception. What I like about “Chasing COLA’s” is the use of the frustrating claim-filing process and the bureaucrat at the other end as a metaphor for a life lived in which constant adjustments need to be made and in which luster is constantly diminishing. Nobody’s budget is ever quite right and nobody’s plans ever manifest unaltered. I’m reminded of that old song “I never promised you a rose garden.” Along those lines, as I recall, neither Shackleton nor Custer had particularly happy endings. The funnest part of this poem is your impressive use of only two rhymes – “ame” and “uster”. “Uster” in particular is an inherently funny sound (don’t ask me why) and you really mine it for all it’s worth.
“Dreamworks” is also exceedingly clever as you’ve crafted an entire poem with a serious theme via limericks. This creates a marvel of tone because despite the underlying serious subject of dreams, their reality and their meaning, there’s a light, comic aspect to the piece which warns against taking them too seriously. As you say “the Bishop rolls dice with the Clown.”
The last line of the piece is more complex than it might at first appear: “And that living out dreams is your lot.” It can be read in its most obvious meaning – “living out a manifestation of one’s dreams is your lot” but it would be equally valid to interpret this as “living outside of one’s dreams is your lot.” These are completely opposite meanings which highlights the idea that reality can sometimes be a rather uncertain thing.
“Night Shift” is a nice title. One must stay unnaturally (and usually unpleasantly) awake to work from midnight to morn. I was happy not to be often assigned. But in the natural order, that’s when we “work” at dreaming. Your scenic collage is masterful, as it indeed describes perceptions we experience outside those of the workaday world. The ending line, as Brian notes, is an ambivalent “seam” between dreaming and waking. I’ll add that you contradict Freud–to a degree. Probably the wisest observation he made about dreams was that we dream about something we have not yet slept on. That is, the interpretation is best sought (but not always found) among events of the previous day. In other words, “dreaming out life is our lot.” But this is certainly an area open to numerous interpretations. Very much enjoyed yours.