The Sealy Challenge

#𝗧𝗵𝗲𝗦𝗲𝗮𝗹𝘆𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗻𝗴𝗲 𝗗𝗮𝘆 𝟮:

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐂𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐁𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐊𝐢𝐝 by 𝐌𝐢𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐞𝐥 𝐎𝐧𝐝𝐚𝐚𝐭𝐣𝐞 ✒️

This is a highly visceral, bloody and visual collection of persona poems by Michael Ondaatje. He takes on the personality of the infamous outlaw Billy the Kid (and people in his life) to give us a collection that touches on the incredibly violent, short and fast life of the man (he was 21 when he died). The book starts off with a poem mentioning all the people Billy killed, and all the ones 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑦 killed, not specifying who 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑦 are at first. What follows is a recollection of how all those people met their end including Billy himself. It’s a game of cat and mouse through poetry, tall tales, personal accounts and more.

One poem had me go “oh my goodness” and read it to my partner because of just how visceral it was. The pieces switch from a couple of lines a page to four-page short stories on a whim. They are mostly violent in some way. I must admit I had to read some pieces twice to really visualize the words. Halfway through I began picking out some of Ondaatje’s techniques such as repetition, alliteration and use of long sentences to give the illusion of a chase. He also uses animals extensively, both literally and figuratively, as a way to express the overarching theme of the hunter and the hunted.

This wasn’t an easy read but quite intriguing. Fans of blood and gore and strikingly visual violence will get a kick out of this. Curious to see what other types of work Michael Ondaatje has.

𝗠𝘆 𝗳𝗮𝘃𝗼𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗲 𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲/𝗽𝗼𝗲𝗺/𝗽𝗮𝗿𝘁::

“After shooting Gregory
this is what happened

I’d shot him well and careful
made it explode under his heart
so it wouldn’t last long and
was about to walk away

when this chicken paddles out to him

and as he was falling hops on his
neck

digs the beak into his throat
straightens legs and heaves
a red and blue vein out

Meanwhile he fell
and the chicken walked away

still tugging at the vein
till it was 12 yards long
as if it held that body like a kite
Gregory’s last words being

get away from me yer stupid chicken”

Follow me on Instagram @samaapoetry for more and check out what The Sealy Challenge is here. My day 1 selection is right here.

Tomorrow’s book will be Before The Usual Time: A Collection of Indigenous Stories and Poems, gathered by Darlene Naponse