Poets with Knives
We decide to name ourselves
“Poets with Knives”
and whip out
our bodegas and stilettos
“This city’s gone insane,
you got to carry protection!”
One woman in the group
looks confused
“It’s macho fetishism,”
someone explains
Later, I eviscerate
a fellow’s poem -
“No Value” I scrawl on it
Same as always
the throats we slit
may be make believe
but they still bleed
and he gets back at me
with some barbs
of his own
Next time, I may hold
my tongue
or cut off his
but that’s how it is
with “Poets with Knives”
little stories within
little stories
reflecting a more dangerous
world.
“Poets with Knives”
and whip out
our bodegas and stilettos
“This city’s gone insane,
you got to carry protection!”
One woman in the group
looks confused
“It’s macho fetishism,”
someone explains
Later, I eviscerate
a fellow’s poem -
“No Value” I scrawl on it
Same as always
the throats we slit
may be make believe
but they still bleed
and he gets back at me
with some barbs
of his own
Next time, I may hold
my tongue
or cut off his
but that’s how it is
with “Poets with Knives”
little stories within
little stories
reflecting a more dangerous
world.
Bältespännarna (The Belt Fighters) -- J. P. Molin
Naked Man with Knife -- Jackson Pollock
"Treasure Island" illustration -- N. C. Wyeth
Naked Man with Knife -- Jackson Pollock
"Treasure Island" illustration -- N. C. Wyeth
"First, each one of the combatants took a butcher-knife (we call them bowie-knives now), and plunged it as deep as he could into a block of wood. The blade, so much as was not in the wood, was then wound round tight with strips of leather, and the knives were cautiously drawn out, and each man took his own. It therefore had now a longer or shorter point, according to the strength he had to plunge it into the wood. Their girdles were then fastened together, so that they could not get away from one another. Now they went at it hip and thigh, cut and slash, till one or both were killed." -- Samuel Irenæus Prime
ReplyDeleteThe bodega is a folding flipper knife with a small tab on the blade that flicks open with a touch of the index finger. A ball bearing pivot combined with a solid detent holds the blade in the handle; one force overcomes the detent, while the reduced friction and weight of the blade propel the blade open. A stiletto is a knife or dagger with a a long, slender blade and needle point intended for stabbing. Its narrow cross-section and acuminated tip reduces friction upon entry, allowing the blade to penetrate deeply. Developed in the late 15th century, its name was derived from the Latin "stilus," a thin pointed writing instrument used to engrave wax or clay tablets. If used with sufficient force it could penetrate most mail or find its way through gaps in plate armor, and was narrow enough to pass through a helmet's eye slits, so it became a knight's secondary weapon, used to finish off a fallen or severely wounded opponent.
The needle-like blade could, if used with sufficient force, penetrate most mail or find its way through gaps in a knight's plate armor, and was narrow enough to pass through the eye slits of the helmeted knight. However, because it could be easily concealed inside a sleeve or jacket, and was capable of easily penetrating the heavy leather and fabric clothing of the day while inflicting mortal wounds that tended to bleed less than those made by other types of knives, it quickly became the main tool of assassins. A person skilled in its use would thrust it deep into the victim and twist the blade sharply in various directions before retracting it, causing the sharp point to inflict severe internal damage not readily apparent when examining the entrance wound. In the 20th century in the US folding switchblade (automatic opening knives were also called "stilettos." Most of them had a bayonet-style blade with a single saber-grind edge (often unsharpened) and a long opposing false edge that tapered to a point, a slim-profile handle, a vestigial cross-guard, and a locking device which locked the blade in the open position.