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Seven Ways of Looking at a Corkscrew

by Tina Schumann
 


Oh little purveyor
of necessary violence,
always drilling towards the sweet stuff.
 
Domestic augur. Supplier of sin
and swirl. I love you.
I love you because
 
you make me say the words:
Montalpulciano D'Abruzzio,
Pinot Noir, Barbaresco.
 
Oh tool of ancient knowledge.
Minimalist of the pull and pop.
Cool and steely under pressure.
 
Teach me to float above the vine.
Give me reason to be hard.
Train me to lie dormant in a glove box.
 
Oh one trick implement,
so happy to oblige,
how have I discarded you?
 
Took you for a con?
Blamed you for my habit,
and thrown you to the drawer.
 
Praise be to you and the cork,
a partnership sublime and mature.
Adults in an adult situation.
 
Let’s make a bond today--
I will succumb to the juice
and you will mark the way.
 

 
Tina Schumann: Her work recently received honorable mention in The Atlantic Monthly's 2008 Poetry Writing Contest and her chapbook, As If, received honorable mention from poet Ellen Bass in the 2008 Byline Chapbook Contest. She was a finalist for the Pacific Northwest Writers Association's 2008 Zola Literary Award. She is a graduate of the University of Washington and received an MFA from the Rainier Writers Workshop at Pacific Lutheran University. Her poems have appeared in various publications, including PALABRA, To Topos Poetry International, Cranky Literary Journal, Poet’s West, Pontoon #4, and Between Sleeps; the 3:15 Experiment.