Nicole Yurcaba’s poem Night Vigil appeared here in November 2010. Her poems literally transport the reader into her part of the world. She draws a very poetic road map.
Observations of a Backwoods Feminist
By Nicole Yurcaba
I. Gun Love 1: Firing
“We go together. I don’t know why … Maybe like guns and ammunition go together.”
–Bart, Gun Crazy
In the chamber
your firing pin
strikes my primer
igniting smokeless powder
expanding pressurized gases,
forcing our unstoppable
heavy-grained bullet
through Lust’s stainless steel barrel …
II. Observations of a Backwoods Feminist
“I never was the girl next door.”–Bettie Page
Observation 1: In her life, there are only three things a woman can truly crutch herself upon: her rifle, her hunting hounds, and her journal.
Observation 2: Like a man, a rifle is only as good as the woman behind it.
Observation 3: Like a man, hounds are only as obedient as the woman is strong guiding the lead, forcing them to walk diligently at her left heel.
Observation 4: Unlike a man, a journal will always be there to faithfully listen and won’t ever reveal a woman’s secrets unless she opens it and allows it to.
III. Gun Love 2: Recoil
“One cannot violate the promptings of one’s nature without having that nature recoil upon itself.”–Jack London
Thirty stitches half-moon curved above the left eyebrow:
a thirty-ought-six’s to the bone recoil kiss reminding:
“When you hold on too loosely,
it’s the one you immeasurably love
that will hurt you most painfully
and leave maximum visible scars.”–Dad
Nicky, you take life by the tail and swing it. Excellent poem. Excellent insight.
Congratulations, Nicole, on your nomination for Best of the Web!