The Mannequins Are More Real Than You

Fiction & Literature, Anthologies, Poetry
Cover of the book The Mannequins Are More Real Than You by James Knight, James Knight
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: James Knight ISBN: 9781310946981
Publisher: James Knight Publication: March 31, 2016
Imprint: Smashwords Edition Language: English
Author: James Knight
ISBN: 9781310946981
Publisher: James Knight
Publication: March 31, 2016
Imprint: Smashwords Edition
Language: English

Sometimes the mannequins get behind my eyes

I feel them tugging the strings
of my nerves
playing with my mechanisms

They make themselves at home in the lumber room of my skull

Imagine a chessboard made of an infinite number of squares, in which the pieces are locked in eternal stalemate. The mannequin is white to the Bird King’s black. Where he is broken, mad, risible, she is perfect, glacial, sinister. She is the mask Lady Macbeth presents to her haunted husband. The Bird King is, in part, me, by which I mean that his nest is somewhere in me, between memory and imagination. Although he is a tyrant, he is also vulnerable and silly. Aren’t we all vulnerable and silly? The mannequin, on the other hand, is totally alien to me. She seems emotionless and inscrutable. I find her mesmerising and nightmarish. What is she thinking? Like Lady Macbeth, she reveals nothing to me. She tells her secrets only to the night.

The Bird King and the mannequin do have one thing in common, however, which is that it is impossible to attach to either of them a stable mental image. If we see either of them in their entirety, in the glare of the sun or a spotlight or headlights, what we see is provisional, a brief phase in their constant mutation. Despite this, the essential identity of each of them is fixed. They are both trapped by who they are.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

Sometimes the mannequins get behind my eyes

I feel them tugging the strings
of my nerves
playing with my mechanisms

They make themselves at home in the lumber room of my skull

Imagine a chessboard made of an infinite number of squares, in which the pieces are locked in eternal stalemate. The mannequin is white to the Bird King’s black. Where he is broken, mad, risible, she is perfect, glacial, sinister. She is the mask Lady Macbeth presents to her haunted husband. The Bird King is, in part, me, by which I mean that his nest is somewhere in me, between memory and imagination. Although he is a tyrant, he is also vulnerable and silly. Aren’t we all vulnerable and silly? The mannequin, on the other hand, is totally alien to me. She seems emotionless and inscrutable. I find her mesmerising and nightmarish. What is she thinking? Like Lady Macbeth, she reveals nothing to me. She tells her secrets only to the night.

The Bird King and the mannequin do have one thing in common, however, which is that it is impossible to attach to either of them a stable mental image. If we see either of them in their entirety, in the glare of the sun or a spotlight or headlights, what we see is provisional, a brief phase in their constant mutation. Despite this, the essential identity of each of them is fixed. They are both trapped by who they are.

More books from Poetry

Cover of the book Poésies de Stéphane Mallarmé by James Knight
Cover of the book Spiritually Poetic for the Heart of the Saints by James Knight
Cover of the book Honderd gedichten by James Knight
Cover of the book Selected Poems David Harsent by James Knight
Cover of the book 100 Poems to Heal a Broken Heart by James Knight
Cover of the book My Way to Love by James Knight
Cover of the book Heart(less): a poetry collection by James Knight
Cover of the book First Poem of Words by James Knight
Cover of the book Pensar la religión by James Knight
Cover of the book To Your Heart from My Soul by James Knight
Cover of the book Before Dawn by James Knight
Cover of the book The Face of It by James Knight
Cover of the book My Adoration by James Knight
Cover of the book Athena's Words of Wisdom: A Collection of Empowering Poetry for Women by James Knight
Cover of the book Long Poems by James Knight
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy