Second-hand smoke
thrums within my ribcage
and I notice every atom
from top to bottom
crannies and nooks
mahogany lava
flooding over shoulders
blue-streaked toes
I can't look away
I don't want to look away
at the way
she holds a cigarette
lazy between *******
and the impish half-smile
that says everything perhaps
and perhaps nothing
a Picasso masterpiece
but it's only lips
it's only the girl
they all call Alaska
a walking storm in flip-flops
from room forty-eight
the static we have
simmers upon my tongue
or is it just Mountain Dew
words belonging to Vonnegut
drop from the leaves
sparkle like drizzle
and kiss every clover
good evening goodnight
goodbye
I have plunged into her pool
of wine and waterlogged literature
I see it I know it I want
to take a drag of her
glide inside her nirvana
hear her smile
with a crush of emeralds
wild in my eyes
a throb of electricity
that rockets through
my crooked veins
and I want a taste
as if squeezing a lemon
and the sugar cascades
liquor-like down my throat
straight and fast
to the last frontier
I see a chain of daisies
gush from her chest
crash at her feet
to be continued
I hope I hope
a phone is ringing
what country is calling?
is it where her vanilla whisper
leaves me wondrously numb?
a fuzzy echo hums
inside my ears
I ask is it over?
Is it done?
and then ****
I'm awake
and her name
has vanished
as fast as a ghost
disintegrated
like the cigarette she held
lazy between *******.
Written: June 2015.
Explanation: This poem is unlike almost anything I have written before. This piece is about the character Alaska Young, from John Green’s novel ‘Looking For Alaska.’ Recently, I read the story for the first time and really liked Alaska - her mystery, her personality etc, and I decided to write a poem about her (sort of) from the viewpoint of the male protagonist Miles (aka Pudge).
The poem contains many references to parts of the story: Alaska smokes, mahogany hair, blue toenails, a half-smile, the Picasso reference, the flip-flops, room forty-eight, Mountain Dew, Vonnegut, drizzle, the clover, wine, waterlogged literature, eyes like emeralds, the use of the word ‘crooked’, the lemon, daisies, vanilla (relating to her smell in the book), and the words ‘****’, ‘ghost’ and ‘disintegrated.’
The title also stems straight from a part in the book, while ‘the last frontier’ is the state nickname of Alaska. She is described as a hurricane in the novel, but this becomes a ‘storm’ in my writing. The phrase ‘The Great Perhaps’ is mentioned in Green’s novel a few times; I just shorten it to ‘perhaps.’
John Green states a line in the song ‘Stephanie Says’ by The Velvet Underground made him choose the name Alaska. ‘people all call her Alaska’ becomes ‘only the girl / they all call Alaska’ in the poem. ‘what country shall I say is calling?’ becomes ‘what country is calling?’ in the poem too.
Hopefully those who have not read the book will still enjoy the poem. It is unusual for me to write a piece about a fictional character in a real novel/TV show/movie.
All feedback is very welcome as always.
NOTE: A week after this poem was uploaded, rumours began circulating that Looking For Alaska would be made into a movie next year.
Also note that many of my older poems will be removed from HP in the coming months.