Unicorns and Dark Chocolate

California poet Marques Vickers’ edition “Unicorns and Dark Chocolate” delves profoundly into an exploration of the inspirations behind the ancient concepts of Eros, Aphrodesia and Desire. Over 300+ concise poetical compositions examine the mythological orientations behind Vickers’ own personal formation and attitudes regarding sexuality.



i know love

as abstraction

long resolved

abandon is youthful indiscretion

mansions of cards

poised to fall

i offer

less

a lower ceiling

torch in a darkened cave



Vickers observations regarding inspiration and eroticism are capsuled in his work about Pele, the Hawaiian God of Creation:



pele



where the black river flows towards the red sea

this is the cradle of love

love be the bloom that flowers amidst the soul of the wind

elusive to the grasp, pleasing to the taste

injurious to the palette

we seek, we seldom find

what we find exceeds the sought

measure, treasure each mystery

each divided heart

understand, but never are we able

i know of love, i have known love

wiser, but foolishly i still seek

the measure of what i believe

and know love to be



While his mind engages consciousness:



lost in thought

a world

where a fleeting memory

becomes flesh

i in you

you in i

locked in a summit

expectation

severed only

by the absence of time



As a painter, Vickers must elevate his brush to visually express. As a poet, he must raise language beyond the evident and obvious:



i can offer language

a peppery tongue oriented to season

your blandness of existence

but never the prospect

of accepting

a candied coated prison

as its price tag



Art is romance, romance is art. His transparency of thought becomes his instrument for transfiguration. His language remains as concise and distinct as his tinted and tainted palette:



i imagine you pensive during your pose

i imagine your own desire surging

do you wonder what passes

through my thought process

while i depict you

i note all

i perceive the rebellious eyelash

unfettered towards abeyance

to the regimented others

i scan the slope and horizon of your cheekbone ridge

sculptured with precision by your creator

the harmonious curvature of woman

as she was intended for display

in all men’s imagination

a sonata of synchronization

dancing and flowing

bathing nude and naturally

as the costume from

which we entered existence



thorough burn



love is a choice reserved for clarity

encircled by the darkest night

commencing its slow fire and thorough burn

emitting openings of flame, pensive reflections

caught are we in webs of attachment,

nooses of emotion

awakening one morning to the realization

our lover is ourself

our union, evolvement of annexation so profound

we breath our lovers breath as our own

lacking you this very moment

aching for the consolation of your touch

well aware that i am myself no longer

but the kindred of our shared souls



Employing his own unique humor:



you are more apt to find

a sturgeon in your toilet

than wisdom at happy hour

more likely to sight

a raccoon in your elevator

than reconcile a bigot

all is probable

it took fifty-two years to gain this insight

fifteen seconds to squander it



And pathos:



lies of omission



as we wait for our long slow goodbye

goodbyes betray artless intention

goodbyes are not good morning

not the warmth we await

heat that once penetrated

still in our natural state

the anxious state of a single soul

anticipating the sensation of love

two bodies, two mouths locked

a precious twist of shared fate

there are always complications

with goodbyes

rejection defies tenderness

once a tether is severed

spiked with malice

honor is for cinematography

sentimentality impedes action

goodbyes come out wrong

rehearsed scripts steering radically errant