House Mountain
House Mountain
by Ryan Buynak
ma’am,
mosey on over here
with that hidden hatchet
and chop my heart in half.
love is for losers,
and,
yet,
despite wishes on the windshield
and the goddamn rocking chairs,
I chose you.
we all have our moments.
measure my tongue
for lies.
measure my will
for endurance.
weigh the halves of my heart
for truth.
The structure of this nic-nac love poem really struck me. I appreciated the quick delivery of these apallingly honest sentiments that are to the point and flat out ‘laying it on the line’. Everyone likes to be ‘leveled with’, don’t they? …And there’s something so refreshing to just come out in the open, expose one’s self, and declare with trumpeting fanfare the passion and purity of our love. It’s a very powerful feeling, and though people will stare at you like you’re broadcasting from the surface of Titan, moon of Saturn, lured there by its Sirens, you bare your thirsty soul like a naked liberal sprinting across a gun range at an National Rifle Association convention. We may even know the outcome, or imagine the unsufferable pain, but must follow our hearts nevertheless.
A poet’s prime duty, afterall, is to know nature and know the nature of our hearts. I was glad to read this piece and not have to endure all the Romantic cliches one typically finds in ‘love confessions’. The whole poem takes on the delivery of a monologue spoken ,or perhaps even thought out, by the author to his object of affection (which is not to imply an objectifying infatuation). On the contrary, the poet seems very down-to-earth and experienced in the ‘art of love’ in expressing a fatalism ‘love is for losers’ but taking a leap of faith anyway in knowing that even for a mere chance that the joys might outweigh the pains. Love is a lottery ticket, it would seem.
In the end, the seeker of love has to be willing to pay the price…and we are talking love here, not a quick one-night-stand or afternoon delight session–we’re not looking to dine on junk-food here–we want the full course meal!
“measure my tongue
for lies.
measure my will
for endurance.
weigh the halves of my heart
for truth.” *AWESOME!!!*
Even when truth and being ‘real’ is not enough to win someone’s heart, it still makes us real nonetheless and feeds the roots of our very existence.