~ fall 2oo8 ~
issue #11

IMAGES

steve hammond

WORDS

george fillingham

writer

deep water cold

villanelle

bio

DEEP WATER COLD

for Andy Fender

The bow attempts to slip the breaker
But the water will not yield so easily.
The wave is split across the bow’s wedge
And the cold water sprays the forecastle deck
With foam and spittle.
The bow-watchman
Catches this sea-spit in his face, continues watching
As the deep water cold moves under the ship.
One can not stand a bow-watch long without
Seeing the wave troughs take on shapes
Like when a knife slices through a tender steak,
The pale thick fat that oozes juices,
Or like a barman peeling lime-zest
For a Vodka twist.
The stable world of land
Now far behind, the sailor conjures
Manifest privations.
The sea will read them
On his face, reflect them in its waves,
And cast them back upon him
Like gin from an offended woman’s glass.
All his disgraces soak his clothes,
Prickle his skin beneath, shiver his bones,
Even blanch his marrow:
The deep water cold
Like a second soul being punished by the first.

© George Fillingham

*****

VILLANELLE

When Nietszche told us God was dead,
That we should just get used to it;
I couldn’t get it through my head.
There must be some mistake some said.
It did sound strange, I must admit,
When Nietszche told us God was dead.
"You’re thinking Crucifixion, Fred,
Not God but Jesus’ side was split.
Can’t you get it through your head?"

Some hoped, from someone as well read
As him, a less conceited wit,
When Nietszche told us God was dead.
"I speak of life, not myth. Instead
Of pointless argument, commit!
Can’t you get that through your head?"

So now there’s no free wine or bread,
But then, gone too’s the flaming pit.
When Nietszche told us God was dead
I couldn’t get it through my head.

© George Fillingham

*****

George Fillingham is a writer from Hopkinsville, KY - his work has been included in such regional outlets as the Hopkinsville Community College magazine THE ROUNDTABLE; the Brescia University journal OPEN 24 HOURS; the Austin Peay State University literary magazine ZONE 3; as well as reading and performing many of his poems at various readings and coffee houses in and around the region. He is a devoted student of poetry but has also written short stories, plays, and sketched out a novel. To contact this writer, click here.