“Sacred Nourishment,” watercolor by Erik Kaye, copyright 2016, 2017

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Cometh the Key

by Scott Thomas Outlar,
copyright 2017

September crawls inside my chest,
burrows its head
like an ostrich
turning eggs within the heart.
Cracks a few
in the parts that were almost stolen
to cook an omelet
and resurrect the flesh
until the beat is synchronized again
in a healthy rhythm.

The day of birth is both brutal and bloody.
The womb of God
is an ocean of pleasure,
but the suffering experienced on earth
balances out the equation in full.

Each of us will learn
in due time
how righteously
the scales truly operate.
Rip out your feathers
and paint them gold.
The silver rule is a war cry
from eagles perched on high,
waiting patiently,
ready to swoop
at the first sign of weakness.
Survival of the fittest
means you best become wise
to the ways
of this wicked world’s nature.

The only sin
is not standing back up.
Take ten strokes
and rise again
with the holy ghost
of your own forgiveness.
Double the dose of eleven
to find salvation
in one tick of the clock
that holds its breath
until eternity ignites.

Veins are a river of fire,
bones are the trunk of a tree,
saliva drips from a tongue
wanton with lust
in the sacred spots
that gently coax sweet sighs.
Milk and honey
between wet thighs of revelation
open the gateway to revolution.
Taste of old wine
until its skin grows sour,
but then drink deeply from the cup
that offers new power.
How many licks does it take
to get to the core
in the kingdom of heaven?
The look as her eyes
roll back
provides the key.

———-

Bio: Scott Thomas Outlar hosts the site 17Numa.wordpress.com where links to his published poetry, fiction, essays, interviews, reviews, and books can be found. His work has been nominated for the Pushcart Prize and Best of the Net. Scott serves as an editor for The Peregrine Muse and Novelmasters. He has been a weekly contributor to the Dissident Voice Sunday Poetry Page for the past three years.

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Artist Erik Kaye’s Real Autobiography: “I made a decision when I was in college that has defined my life. I decided not to pursue a career in Art until I first overcame a mysterious condition in my life that finally turned out to be Adult ADD. I thought I could just coast on secondary jobs, working in print shops and later, teaching English-as-a-Foreign-Language in Japan, until the inevitable completion of my real work, ADD-Busting. Which never came, at least not until now that I’m in my 60s. But such is the way of art; painting is a solitary avocation that is as much about the transformative journey as it is about acquiring technical skill.” Erik is now living in Hawaii. To see more of his amazing artwork, click: https://erikkayeart.wordpress.com/

Categories: painting by Erik Kaye, poem by Scott Thomas Outlar

Tags: poem by Scott Thomas Outlar, watercolor painting by Erik Kaye