Red Yellow Green

Many Vietnam Veterans organizations use the colors red, yellow and green on their flags, banners, etc. This is to represent the colors on the ribbon of the Vietnam Service Medal.

Red, white and blue became

red, yellow and green

blue

blue like the serenity of oceans rearing up into skies

blue to green

like denim to fatigues

blue to green

like the family station wagon to canvas-covered trucks

all this fucking green

not brilliant life-giving green

but indifferent man-made green

white

white like all the possibilities of crisp paper waiting for scribbles

white to yellow

like teeth tainted from smokes coffee vomit

white to yellow

like the faces of hometown USA to the faces of the villages of South East Asia

white to yellow

like letters from home carried next to foul sweat-drenched skin

red

red like flushed faces drunk on life’s affirmations

red fell into black

into a nightmare of dreamless sleep

and from black rose red again

red like screaming faces briefly lit in midnight battle

red like ribbons of guts inside-out

rages of red

but who to be red at?

When he comes home

parents and friends speak to him in red, white and blue

the TV broadcasts in red, white and blue

the streets are paved with red, white and blue

he must be blind

he only sees red yellow green

Sharing the Love

Ancient Greek philosophy divided love into three types: Eros=lover/spouse/mate; Philia=family/friend; and Agape=humanity/acquaintance

Eros Philia and Agape are trying to live together

in a two-bedroom apartment downtown

Agape has his own room

smokes cigarettes drinks coffee

watches the news all night

on those rare nights he does doze off

he sleepwalks

somehow wakes in the Psychiatric center

Philia has to come pick him up

convince the doctors he’s not really self-destructive

Eros and Philia share a room

Eros has manic moods

comes home just before the sun

in fits of shining joy or dark depression

either way he talks too much

Philia tosses turns groans

gets up says get a grip you flaky fruitcake

takes pillow and blanket to sleep on couch

seriously considers moving back in with his parents

they go out for drinks together often

only ones pulled up to the bar

arguing over television channels

Philia wants to watch the game

Agape wants CNN

Eros wants to watch the new Lifetime Movie Network

Philia calls him a flaky fruitcake

Eros bitchslaps Philia

Philia pushes him easily off barstool

Agape says hey you can’t treat people that way

kicks Philia in the nads

but Philia has no nads

so he makes a quick comeback

punches Agape who passes out in a heap on the floor

and unfazed Philia sits down and watches the rest of the game

knowing it’ll all be the same again the next day

like everyday

everyday traffic goes right through their living room

everyday pedestrians are talking into cellphones but

they’re really talking to themselves

everyday buildings become higher than ideas

everyday Eros Philia and Agape

Lover Brother Human Being

are trying to live together in a two-bedroom apartment downtown

and the rent keeps going up

Normal, Crazy & St. Peter’s Girlfriend

her parents dropped off her clothes

normal clothes

because we try to be as normal here as possible

a doctor said this to her as a woman marched by in her jammies

declaring she won’t have St. Peter’s baby in this hospital.

Normal has left the building

right behind the parents and the day-staff.

Normal doesn’t like coming to this party

he makes an appearance for appearance’s sake

he show up late and leaves early

Normal enjoys women swooning over him

men wanting to be him

he doesn’t eat anything because he just came from another party

where the food was better.

He takes home a girl called Crazy

high on legal drugs.

Normal fucks Crazy.

Crazy is all flesh and nonsense.

Normal has no hair on his chest

no sweat

no nipples

only outlines of muscles like a Ken-Doll

and no dick.

He can’t fuck Crazy.

He can’t fuck anybody.

Normal is never a friend or a lover, but always an acquaintance.

Crazy goes back to the party where

St. Peter’s girlfriend is wrestling with the night-staff

in the storm before the calm

a pile of tangled screaming white cloth skin flushed stressed

and a needle

muffled prayers go on from the last room down the hall

for half an hour or all night

St. Peter never comes to rescue her.

Normal will stop by later to give her her meds.

To Dr. Nash

is that you working Dr. Nash?

I’ve been working

constructing a life out

of dead batteries and rubber

cement and there are no

Russian agents attempting

to foil my plan but someone’s

been stealing my batteries

to my horror I found them

all last night stashed in

my silverware drawer

seems I’ve been stealing

from myself

I’ve been thinking Dr. Nash.

Thinking in tablespoons

and milligrams about all

that’s normal how it’s neither

right nor wrong and all the

things I am that’s right

and wrong

And I’ve been noticing things Dr. Nash.

Like I noticed how the wash never

takes the cat hair out

of my clothes it only

cleans the cat hair

now I have clean cat hair

in all my paintings

my art

but that is not art

not to me

and this is not poetry

this is just me speaking

Is that you speaking Dr. Nash?

—poems by Kristen C. Day

 
Poetry Submission Guidelines

In order to submit your work for consideration, please send one to four poems to Metroland, 4 Central Ave., Albany, N.Y. 12210, attn. Poetry in the Paper. Please send each poem on a separate page, and please be sure to put your name, address and phone number on each page. Due to the large amount of poetry we have been receiving, we will not be able to return your poetry submissions, so please send copies—no originals! Poetry selected for publication will appear in the print version of Metroland and on the Web at www.metroland.net for the duration of one issue (one week). Poets whose work has been published will receive a $25 gift certificate to a local bookstore.

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