Iowa Writes

TERRY SAVOIE
Ventriloquist


Between pencil-
thin moustache
& lower lip,

his limp
smirk
harbors a city

of gold-capped
clenched
teeth & a pot

of honeyed
language
hidden

in the hollow
of his Adam's
apple.

Between pencil-
thin moustache
& lower lip,

his limp
smirk
harbors a city

of gold-capped
clenched
teeth & a pot

of honeyed
language
hidden

in the hollow
of his Adam's
apple.

He's
a comic
who wants

us to think
his life's
merely lip

service,
idle chit-
chat,

answering
when spoken to,
never (never?) making

much sense.
  In
his world the other's
always the soured

dummy while
he stays
the straight.

                  His life
even God
        (given Time)
might grow
to love.

more

About Iowa Writes

Since 2006, "Iowa Writes" has featured the work of Iowa-identified writers on The Daily Palette, and it has recently expanded its scope to include work published by Iowa journals and publishers. Curated by the staff of The Iowa Review, "Iowa Writes" features poetry, fiction, or nonfiction several times a week on the Palette. In November, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) designated Iowa City, Iowa, the world's third City of Literature, making the community part of the UNESCO Creative Cities Network. Iowa City has joined Edinburgh, Scotland and Melbourne, Australia as UNESCO Cities of Literature.

Find out more about submitting at iowawrites.org


TERRY SAVOIE

Terry Savoie's work has appeared in more than 130 literary journals, anthologies, and small press publications, including Poetry, Ploughshares, and Prairie Schooner. He lives in Davenport.

This page was first displayed
on March 21, 2006

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