The Pope’s Penis
The Pope’s Penis
by Sharon Olds
It hangs deep in his robes, a delicate
clapper at the center of a bell.
It moves when he moves, a ghostly fish in a
halo of silver seaweed, the hair
swaying in the dark and the heat — and at night
while his eyes sleep, it stands up
in praise of God.
I love it. And the poem is as good as its title: great earthy imagery.
one of the worst poems i’ve read on h&h in at least a few months. even ed wood would be spinning.
Why, cerebella?
as we all know the lion’s share of poetry out there sucks. but that’s okay. as long as it comes from the heart than that’s a really valid reason to celebrate.
but idk, the popes penis? strikes my catholic ball sack betwixt the sheets as ‘kinda lazy’. what’s worse is it tastes a smidge contrived. so if all this was done purposefully for shock value, than at least try harder. hArDeR. HARDER! or take a break, and re-write between looking at your work both critically and subjectively.
idk, only bc you asked.
Thanks for responding.I never thought about the pope’s penis before, and to have that be the title was a big plus. Then to describe it as a bell clapper I thought was amusingly apropos, and then so beautifully as “a ghostly fish in a halo of silver seaweed” a masterful bland of the natural and spiritual worlds, but then to see it while the celibate holy father sleeps stand up “in praise of God” hilariously-ironically sticks it to the whole sacred vs. profane Christian view of life.
i wouldn’t be able to say there’s a whole all-or-nothing christian view of life considering the motley denominations therein enormous ranges of personalities; also, you can apply the all-or-nothing syndrome to any school of thought that doesn’t necessarily float your tugboat. idk. there is an in between. i was baptised, several people i’ve known were as well- but i don’t see it’s relevance to now. i don’t possess an identity someone with a christian faith might have. the road continues as it always had been prior to being baptised at like seven years of age.
the silver seaweed bs could’ve worked elsewhere should it not have been spoiled getting paralled to the pubic hair of the pope. why not tear up a bible and call it performance art? i guess bc the yellow pages would make someone stop thinking instead and provoke an austere type of wondering.
this poem is a rude joke and probably either a product of submission-drought or some calculated contrast to either the poem posted prior or to todays. i can’t keep up. it’s not my doody.
i was just informed that sharon olds is an important person- pulitzer prize of the year and everything. i googl’d to make sure he wasn’t pulling my leg.
“As soon as my sister and I got out of our
mother’s house, all we wanted to
do was fuck, obliterate
her tiny sparrow body and narrow
grasshopper legs.[7]
” [wikipedia]
um? continues to smell like contrived junk to me. than again, all my favorite writers never get prestigious credit. and this is wikipedia i was quoting.