Rumpus Original Poetry: Three Poems by Todd McKinney

 

KAMA SUTRA: CLASSIC LOVEMAKING TECHNIQUES REINTERPRETED FOR TODAY’S LOVERS BY ANNE HOOPER

¢50

Don’t be afraid to educate the Dionysian in you,
in your lover. We all have a lot to learn
about pleasure. “How to enjoy it”
should be near the top of this list.
“How to give it” should be up there too.
Think of watching a breeze move through
a flowering dogwood on a bright, hot day.
Think of pouring a bath with huge, shiny bubbles.
Don’t worry about the missing pages.
Instructions are mostly easy to follow.
Believe it or not, you can reach beyond
the skin of your fingertips. You can imagine
being a songbird flying from tree to tree.
Think of this book as a fake book.
Get a candle and a ukulele. Pretend
love has never been made quite right before.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

TABLE TOP TILE SAW

$10

Was it 2Pac who said
“Every beautiful thing
contains some kinda pain?”
Maybe it was Red from
that prison-break movie.
A luxury automobile ad?
Truth is: could’ve been
Ms. Colquitt across the street.
She’s a Reiki Master and
says it’s good to get all
out of whack, no joke. Says,
it’s a fool’s dream to hope
for never-ending harmony.
Elsewise, she adds, no feeling
what harmony feels like. So
back to this table top tile saw.
It could contain the next
great je ne sais quoi,
Ms. Colquitt might say,
you just never know. And
that’s the truth, Ruth! Mister
Señor Love Daddy says that.

 

 

 

HALF A GLOBE (THE NORTHERN HEMISPHERE)

Free

To spare you the long sad
story explaining what
now seems like complete nonsense,
here’s the short version:
a do-it-yourself fuck-up.
Without a doubt, it could still be—
with much love and patience,
some nerve and imagination—
it could be something yet,
like a salad bowl or the new shade
for a pendant light hanging above
a dreamy kitchen island.
Of course, it’d be wonderful to have
the Southern Hemisphere back.
The equator not so jagged.
The two huge cracks mended.
And to undo the hole
drilled near the North Pole.
You just don’t fuck with magic.
That was the lesson forgotten here.
Forgotten ahead of time.
Forgotten many times.
Just don’t fuck with magic.