poemranker ::The Prayer Vendor by Enkidu

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Free verse № 136830

The Prayer Vendor

by Enkidu

Member since 2004 · Posted 11 Jan 2006 · Edited 12 Jan 2006 · 6 comments

The corners hide him, standing there in absolution. He greets you with sincerity, and deil's smiles become his martyrs. There are craven deprecations from the callers, and daring, fellow-feeling prayers to ponder on, unresolved. Now, the mortal angels rend the sky to find him sitting on heavy weather; the vitiating veil. They curtail their graces. And the Vendor whiles away his wares to poorer folk who stand in queue: the drudge and the march, with little miracles to desire.

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6 comments

[7] Dovina 12-Jan-06/6:01 PM Reply
How does a smile become a martyr?
"craven deprications" Did you use a thesaurus for "cowardly blames"? Not that it matters, but simpler language goes down easier. Still, I like this.
[n/a] zodiac › Dovina 12-Jan-06/6:20 PM Reply
I think he means like, "That dress becomes you."
[7] Dovina › zodiac 12-Jan-06/6:31 PM Reply
Could be, but martyrs don't usually have mischevious (deil's) smiles.
[n/a] zodiac › Dovina 12-Jan-06/6:22 PM Reply
That or because he's offering them up for sacrifices, for persecution.
[n/a] Enkidu 12-Jan-06/10:31 PM Reply
I despise using dictionaries and thesauri unless I'm looking up the spelling of a word. By the way, a deprecation is a sort of prayer. Also, I used deil's (the devil's) smiles as a metaphor for the people who the Vendor makes suffer.
[7] Dovina › Enkidu 13-Jan-06/11:49 AM Reply
I see how that can be, but how many readers will even get through the unusual words in your large vocabulary to start thinking about an obsucre metaphor like that.