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WHAT SHE SAID
She told him that he’d
eventually harness a gift,
which in all honesty had
come to scare him.
From the second he left
that tiny boardwalk booth,
freaky premonitions streamed
into his consciousness.
It got so bad that after
a while he'd have to ask
himself if they were
just silly mind tricks.
But then some of them started
to come true - little things
that actually happened and
it only made his situation worse.
Will she get into a deadly
car accident on the
way to work?
Will the kid be fine?
And mom, will this be
the last conversation?
He'd tell his friends to put
themselves in his shoes.
Imagine asking yourself
these daily, ritualistic
questions after some silly
storefront psychic laid
down that whopper of a
statement. It’s a burden.
Here it is a year later
and he's thinking
about asking for
his money back.
What right did she have?
"What She Said" by Anthony Venutolo is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License. Hosted by The Internet Archive, download MP3 here. Music by Mister Todd, track "Organ Loop 2", and provided by The FreesoundProject. Music also by Cliftonaudio, "Accordian at La Republique", and provided by The FreesoundProject
Nothing like a good premonition to freak you the hell out. Enjoyed this.
ReplyDeleteUh, some anonymous bastard spammed you with viagra. Hmm, spam and viagra just don't mix well. Although, they both involve meat.
I had a freaky fortune reading when I was in Jamaica and wondered something similar...what right did she have telling me my signs were those of the devil and death! Strangely though...that was just two weeks before 9/11.
ReplyDeleteI like how you asked the questions in this piece - it increased the suspense and added to his dilemma.
Nice pic too!
Jeanette Cheezum
ReplyDeleteThis is good and you know...my grandmother had her fortune told
at a fair. When she came out of the tent, her sisters said she looked white as a ghost. When my grandfather died a year later she confessed thats what the gypsy told her. He was only 23. You were able to make me remember.
If someone would have asked me how could Anthony class up his stuff, I'd told them there was no way. I would have been wrong. The voice readings are awesome, Ant. You've got the voice to go with the words. I'll be a regular listener.
ReplyDeleteAnthony dear, I enjoy your poetry and I love your voice. I'm surprised to find just how much the vocal rendition adds to the atmosphere of the poem.
ReplyDeleteRegarding fortune tellers, I've been one. Fortune telling is a performance. I do not believe anyone can "see" into the future. We can intuit things about the client from their demeanor and body language, but there was no magic or supernatural powers involved, just observation and sensitivity. I was always careful not to say anything frightening to my guests, even if I felt it. I do believe there is such a thing as "self-fulfilling prophecies" and I did not want to be responsible for causing one.
Very nicely done, Anthony. Nightmarish, like a crazy be bop acid trip wandering down your dark alleys. Thanks for the tour.
ReplyDeleteYou already know I like this one. Here's to more. You have a knack for prose poetry, and the world needs more prose poetry podcasts. Hey, that alliteration works . . . you could actually call it The Prose Poetry Podcast! Now all you need is a logo.
ReplyDeleteGood work on the legal footnotes btw. Extremely well laid out and worded. ;)
p.s. LOL at Angel's spam & viagra observation.
ReplyDeleteGreat work.
ReplyDeleteI love that. You know I have a thing for fortune tellers. I love the build up of irritation in your voice as the poem ends. Poor guy.
ReplyDeleteLove how you took a good omen and turned it all ominous. Well done!
ReplyDeleteNice bedtime story, Ant! :)
ReplyDeleteMy favourite is the last line. After such an experience, after becoming the unwilling Cassandra of present day, you'd be pretty angry. I wonder what's in store for her now, what he's going to do next.
ReplyDelete