Guilty (Pleasure)
Guilty (Pleasure)
It started, I think, with my Lutheran baptism,
which damply paired pleasure with cataclysm
(though it’s not really part of the catechism),
guilt then clung to fun like reverse jism–
(something that gunks up motility
rather than serve its mobility)–
So, the label of sin deemed original
stuck to sweetness that wasn’t subliminal,
aping price tags enfuzzed on a peach,
or tar strips that bake on a beach,
and pleasure was coded with bars
safe only if you’d got to Mars–
Like the sword swallower learning to tilt
the throat that was drowning the hilt–
just so, I learned to down guilt,
as if my gullet had been built
for it.
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A reading of the poem (if you are interested):
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I am posting the above draft poem very belatedly for Izzy Gruye’s Out of Standard prompt for With Real Toads about “guilty pleasures.” Coming from a Lutheran Scandinavian upbringing I’m afraid those two words are pretty much synonymous. I am also linking to dVerse Poets Pub Poetics prompt on “preparation,” hosted by the very prepared Mary Kling. Self-denial of a sorts a key part of my training for life.
Tags: difficulty with enjoyment, dverse Poets Preparation, guilty pleasure poem, http://withrealtoads.blogspot.com, Lutheran poem, manicddaily, original sin and tar beach poem, peaches with price tags, poem about sword swallowing
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ManicDDaily 
November 24, 2012 at 12:38 am
I enjoy the way your poem started strong and just kept increasing in intensity … shouting to me by the end. I read it to myself and then I read it out loud. Wow.
November 24, 2012 at 7:21 am
Thanks, Helen. K.
November 24, 2012 at 3:21 am
This poem is a tour de force on so many levels, not least of which the fact you overcame your natural reticence to reveal your guilty pleasure. The word choice is exquisite, add to that they rhyme so astoundingly well, then throw in that fourth line….with jism to rhyme with all the ecclesiastical terms that come before it, and the entire syntax of the line… Well, I think you deserve a round of applause.
The imagery was tantalizingly suggestive but the underlying notion of one struggling to equate pleasure with sin really carries the poem through to an excellent conclusion.
November 24, 2012 at 7:21 am
Thanks so much, Kerry. k.
November 24, 2012 at 6:37 am
Absolutely brilliant! It wins the ultimate accolade that anyone can give: I wish I’d written it! Superb.
November 24, 2012 at 7:20 am
Ha! Thanks, David. k .
November 24, 2012 at 7:36 am
smiles….nice word play and allusion in this k….so pleasure is bad? i think they taught much the same in church growing up on my end as well…ha..well played ma’am
November 24, 2012 at 7:42 am
I don’t really blame the church! I think Scandinavians may just have a rather dark side. The sun so extreme perhaps. k.
November 24, 2012 at 9:28 am
I’d have to say Scandinavians don’t have a lock on this trying to make pleasure guilty- Catholics did just fine in that regard. How do we survive our childhoods unscathed? This was cleverly done!
November 24, 2012 at 10:41 am
Ha. Yes, but Catholics have the wonderful device of confession and absolution! Thanks. k.
November 24, 2012 at 10:53 am
I continue the round of applause started by Kerry. “Like the sword swallower…” is my favorite line, the one that brought this poem directly to my senses. I often get lost in rhymes the first go through, not knowing what I’ve just read but enjoyed the ride all the same. With this one, I was Devoutly hooked by reversed jism. The whole center of your piece with –aping price tags enfuzzed on a peach– is brilliant for its own sensuality and takes me to the garden. the peach to the apple… the tarred beach to the apple orchard/garden of eden.
November 24, 2012 at 11:05 am
Thanks so much! Rhyme can carry you into very different content than initially expected–it was funny working on it the different directions. I appreciate your thoughtful reading. k.
On Sat, Nov 24, 2012 at 10:53 AM, ManicDDaily
November 24, 2012 at 11:39 am
wowee. the sword swallowing got me, too. intense, enjoyable, i don’t feel guilty at all!
November 24, 2012 at 11:51 am
Ha! K.
November 24, 2012 at 12:05 pm
I really enjoyed this… read it three times. It is a fine balance knowing when pleasure is not selfish, does not hurt others (because some is and some does) BUT, guilt can also prevent one from enjoying what there is to be enjoyed, and living life to its fullest. I think time and age truly do help with figuring it all out (and youth rarely considers it at all 🙂
November 24, 2012 at 3:41 pm
Well, I was raised in the same church. I remember near prom time when the minister would stand up and preach on the evils of dancing and how dancing induced lust. Sigh. I still am an L, but not a much more liberal one….and people can dance to their heart’s content and not feel guilty about ‘pleasures.’ A strong poem here, which made me think back.
November 24, 2012 at 4:08 pm
Such a joy to read this… I especially like:
guilt then clung to fun like reverse jism
November 24, 2012 at 4:09 pm
Thanks, Laurie. k.
November 24, 2012 at 4:29 pm
Chocolate is my guilty pleasure… Although you’ve made yours sound rather succulent too K 🙂
November 24, 2012 at 6:09 pm
This is unbelievably incredible, fantastic, seriously impressive work. I love this piece, especially “guilt then clung to fun like reverse jism” and the ending:
“Like the sword swallower learning to tilt
the throat that was drowning the hilt–
just so, I learned to down guilt,
as if my gullet had been built
for it.”
Wow.
November 24, 2012 at 6:30 pm
Ha! Well, I don’t know about that, but thanks much, Shawna! k.
November 24, 2012 at 7:02 pm
Very cleverly written, with admirable internal rhyming. I had the same sort of upbringing and it is a wonder any of us were ever able to achieve “guilty pleasure” at all, afterward:)
November 24, 2012 at 7:17 pm
A boomer who was more than ready for the freedoms of the 60’s, I never had the obstacles of guilt & sin to overcome; yet, so many do. A brilliant diatribe masked as rhyme; enjoyed it a lot, and of course, always enjoy your recitations. We seem to be in the poetic minority in that regard. First read the poem, then listen to the recitation, then listen to the narrative while re-reading the poem; 3 separate delicious experiences.
November 24, 2012 at 7:31 pm
Thanks so much, Glenn. k.
November 24, 2012 at 8:00 pm
Ahhh–downing guilt as if your gullet was made for it. Brilliant, K. The baptists are great at dispensing guilt too. I really, really wish I had written this–it spoke so truthfully and beautifully to me.
November 24, 2012 at 9:27 pm
Thanks, Susan. k.
November 24, 2012 at 8:14 pm
Enjoying the play of rhyming words, which also gives resonates with depth and meaning ~
Good one K ~
November 24, 2012 at 8:52 pm
Enjoyed! I am amazed when thinking on it, how many pleasures could be seen as sinful, envoking guilt. Decadant chocolate, one too many glasses of wine, the last piece of cheesecake…
November 24, 2012 at 9:26 pm
Thanks. k.
November 24, 2012 at 9:30 pm
Wow, that was amazing. Brilliantly done!
I felt like my mind was singing as I read it silently.
November 24, 2012 at 9:33 pm
Ha, thanks, Sabio. I was very impressed by your Japanese timeline. I’m sorry I was on and offline between trying to do other work, so I haven’t commented yet, but will go back and check out. Looked like a lot of work! k.
November 25, 2012 at 8:00 pm
Thanx. Love the drawing accompanying this poem too.
November 24, 2012 at 11:10 pm
Oh, I liked this very much! And thank you for the audio version. 🙂
November 25, 2012 at 2:47 am
Aw … how much starts at our baptism? Fab poem k. Love all the ‘ism’ words 🙂
November 25, 2012 at 3:47 am
and pleasure was coded with bars
safe only if you’d got to Mars–….ha….cool on the word plays k. – and terrible what the church taught for a while to make all kinds of pleasure sound like a sin…
November 25, 2012 at 8:18 am
Amusing piece – interesting that we were discussing guilt and then you had the prompt here… religious guilt is a kind I find very hard to understand, I have to say, but this I know is light-hearted. First rhymer I’ve seen from you i think…
November 25, 2012 at 8:26 am
Hi Luke, I don’t truly suffer from religious guilt. I’m not anti-religious on a personal level and was never made to feel particularly guilty by my church as a child– but there’s a kind of Lutheran Midwestern mindset! Oddly different from Catholicism in the US anyway where catholics seemed incredibly fun loving and lighthearted in comparison with bingo and confession and loads of children. Of course i’m talking about some time ago. K.
November 25, 2012 at 8:39 am
hehe! Sounds fun… the Church is dead here now, pretty much. I don’t mourn that, because this is a very spiritual land and there is so much of that still around (more than ever, actually, despite the materialism).
November 25, 2012 at 11:43 am
I just love this Karin–the images are so alive and instantly relatable, the language so sharp and intelligent, and the message surely something many of us have lived and internalized, yet your presentation is so fresh it’s as if we see it for the first time. Really an excellent poem in itself as well as a great take on the prompt.
November 25, 2012 at 11:50 am
Thanks! It was one of those fun ones–as you can probably tell–sound able to lead the way when something is so ingrained. K.
November 25, 2012 at 11:57 am
last couple days of nano…hope you are making good progress k….
November 25, 2012 at 12:29 pm
Some progress! I’ve actually had a lot of job work that I have to do even on weekend so not so free as I’d like. Thanks though. I am not going to worry about typing this time to verify word count. I’ve done it before. I’m just using as a goad.
November 26, 2012 at 3:20 am
wonderful meshing of the abstract metaphoric reflection with brilliantly woven conversational assemblage. Strong piece Karin. Thanks
November 26, 2012 at 9:54 am
The concept of guilt expressed in your poem is interesting . Catholic guilt is different from Lutheran guilt. Catholics are allowed a lot more scope for pleasure.We are taught very young that part of the reason for our existence is to enjoy life here on eath. I remember fastening on to that concept when I first heard it in a catechism class at the age of seven….thinking it was a very good idea,and have perhaps enjoyed myself in ways during certain stages of my life without the approval of the Church.Personally I am most grateful for having a religious background. I only realised this when I started to associate with so many who did not . It has sustained me throughout my life.
November 26, 2012 at 10:21 am
Thanks, yes. Some have interpreted the poem as anti-religious and it is not meant that way. It is more about me and perhaps being Scandinavian than a specific religious doctrine. That said, I do think Catholics have way more scope for pleasure due to the possibility of confession and immediate absolution. k.
November 26, 2012 at 6:14 pm
It is a widely held misapprehension amongst non Catholics that absolution is immediate. It is not. There are conditions for absolution. If they are not met…you do not get it!
November 26, 2012 at 6:18 pm
Forgiveness by priests, gods or magic is ridiculous any way you spin it. People forgive people, don’t you think.
November 28, 2012 at 10:32 am
And that guilt bellyache can cause some major real illnesses! Oh, I know what you are talking about. Our gullets are not built for it (wonderful images) but it seems our faiths are!