“Three Blocks West of Wonderland” by Heather Haley March 24, 2008
Posted by Rodger Jacobs in Los Angeles poetry.Tags: Canadian poets, Heather Haley, Los Angeles, Los Angeles poetry, poetry, poets, Wonderland murders
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The murders mattered
only because they went down
in my sweet pea-with-a-bent-stem friend
Daisy’s neighbourhood. We could be sisters,
sharing obscure origins in la belle province. I foisted
white trash, Daisy adopted, blossoming into a blonde
Jewish princess. Beguiling kook. Fatal Queens accent.
Two transplants to Los Angeles. I dipped in Silverlake.
Solo act. Daisy regal atop Lookout Mountain Avenue,
three blocks west of Wonderland. Aspiring director boy toy
in tow. No gun clubs on their map of LA. Leery elkhounds
patrolled the property. Litter box kitties safe from coyotes,
rabid coons. One morning LAPD prodded creeping sage
ground cover. Rats? No. We’re searching for body parts.
Clues. Wonderland, the movie based on a true story.
Val Kilmer still too hunky to play geeky John Holmes,
decidedly Joe Blow as appearances go.
Might explain his appeal though.
Everyman identified, despite the grotesque cock.
Coppola wannabe split. Mattress and pillow a prairie
of down. Daisy bought a Colt. 45 to dream on. Statistics,
shmistics. She had a plan to scare off intruders, to shoot up
into the rafters where the petrified red rosebuds hung.
A terrific piece, Heather.
I should mention, for the record, that I am linked to the Wonderland murders through my work on “Wadd: The Life and Times of John C. Holmes” and my book, “Long Time Money and Lots of Cocaine”, but Heather and I have never been acquainted until today. Just a happy coincidence.
I like the way this…must be the way it moves..just like it
It’s the last line, Scott,(where the petrified red rosebuds hung)that really nails it. For me, anyway.
[...] have posted original works by Joseph Mailander, Scot Young, and Heather Haley, with more to come. Haley’s piece, incidentally and ironically, is tied to the Wonderland [...]
Yes Rodger after another read–that is it!
Yup. It’s the death symbolism.
I really like that last stanza.
Heather has an audio version of this and a few other pieces at her website. I was going to listen last night but I got caught up in a book I have to review for Pop Matters. Maybe this evening.
[...] (Heather is a Canadian poetess, writer, and performance artist. Previously at Hemingway’s Shotgun, Heather has contributed Three Blocks West of Wonderland.) [...]