Untitled Sonnet #17

Of lowest creatures we pretend disgust,
So that our hidden wound may never spread,
Revealing bloated meat and bony thrust,
Or slip from eager mouth the mask of dread.
But you with lips shut tight in nettled smile,
Who feed us lies with all too vestal slop,
And make a sty where angels would beguile,
And drive the pig to slaughter with your crop:
You who would slice the shadow’s boneless ham,
Displayed and glazed with honey o’er the fat,
And 'round that cut would wrap your prim madame,
And fling the scraps in allies for the rats:
  Pity yourself, and watch this glutton be,
  To eat raw flesh, beside herself with glee.


By Valerie Bane

The Multiple Self

It has always felt to me that I am more than one person.  I feel the energy of a multiplicity of selves coursing through me, some taking center stage and others lingering in the shadows, depending on the context.  I'm one person with my family, another person at work.  I'm considered "painfully shy" by some friends, and an "online exhibitionist" by others.  Sometimes I feel these multiple selves fighting with each other, and at other times one self reassures and comforts another.  Sometimes my selves sit together on the bed, couch or floor, peacefully coexisting like several sleepy cats in  the home of a shut-in.

No painter has better captured the feeling of having multiple selves better than Korin Faught.  Here is a sample of her work.

Constellation - Korin Faught

Korin Faught

Stairwell - Korin Faught

The Rules Of The Game

So today I was told that in order to be part of this "Her Crooked House" project, I had to follow certain "parameters."  Apparently, certain members of the group thought they needed to make clear to me that "your blog can't just be about sex, and it can't just be about YOU."

Needless to say, I was upset by this comment.  While it is true that my earlier (anonymous) tumblr blog was about "an orgasm a day," this blog is NOT exclusively about sex and it's not just "about me."  I haven't written about the others in the group because...there's nothing to write about yet!  We have no house, so there is no "Crooked House" project to write about.  Half the members I haven't even MET yet.  Right now its all theoretical.

And if each of our six blogs isn't about personal expression, what's the point?  Frankly, if this whole game we are playing is going to be about a lot of rules and censorship, I don't think I can be a part of it.

I'm sorry, but that's just how I feel.

P.S. (6/20) Okay, perhaps I was just a teensy weensy bit psychotic with that post.  I have since come to my senses.  From here on in, I will focus more on art and poetry and less on so-called "adult" content.  The sensitive young minds of our potential readers will NOT be corrupted by my more salacious musings.  :)