Water
Tears
Blurred screens
Disconnected numbers
I lost my memory in a dish I left outside
the rain filled it up and soon thoughts
sodden and wrinkled
were illegible
It was you
you were the one dancing in the rain
you were the one who sheltered me from the storm
with your skinny arms and your little heart
It was I
who burrowed inside your cave and found
the fiery part and claimed it, kept it burning
long after the rain stopped
we lay in velvet darkness
your hand resting against my cheek
in the way only unraveled people sleep
I heard your dreams
you felt my body move
curl about you like
an extension of your desire
we contained the sum
of us
in a little boat
kept aloft by hope
when you said hope died
the flame behind your eyes
the one looking at me with such tenderness
blew out
behind in its place
soot and smoke gathered
like regretful children with dirty hands
smudging their best pictures
late summer rain drowned out
the sound of me calling
you would have heard but you had
long stopped listening
it poured, soon streets were awash
a symbol, a crucifixion, something terribly broken
something crushed underfoot, losing form
you bent to pick up the pieces of my heart
but could not read the words
for you had also lost your past and our history
I no more featured than the last time it rained
long long ago
when the trees were still thin and straight
not bent and crooked offering up their rotten roots
then you were a woman who loved someone else
I was a piece of paper
too wet to decipher
had you wanted to
and you did not
you did not
Beautifully poignant!
Beautifully poignant Feathers.
As always, your imagery is beautiful. If I were to pick out my favourite lines it would be these:
“soot and smoke gathered
like regretful children with dirty hands
smudging their best pictures”
The closing words of this poem leave an echo of baffling loss
You use echoes in your writing, I may have swiped the idea a little as I love that about your poetry, you can ‘hear’ it even as you say it in your head. Thank you dear one
There she is, the first flower of the day xo
Thank you dearest Orville
🌺 xo
Great poem, great picture!
Thank you so much Andrick!
lI love your generous spirit. You always reply to my messages with a compliment.
You copy nothing from me. If something I wrote gave you an idea, it is you who has the skill to know how and when to use it. You make it your own in the most marvellous way. I’ve toyed with the idea of asking you if we could swap poems sometime – you rewrite one of mine and I rewrite one of yours – just to see what happens; whether we improve each other’s work or mess it up.
Pain, painted beautifully.
That’s a gift.
“You bent to pick up the pieces of my heart” …so touched my heart !
It might take a long time to find mine as there are at least a thousand and I don’t recall where or when they began to fall. But fall they did and I…..I remain forever broken and alone.
Thank you for sharing your oh so beautiful gift!
It is not hatred that is the opposite of love, it is indifference. There is the greater pain.
Reblogged this on cabbagesandkings524 and commented:
TheFeatheredSleep – Love washed out
Another gift : A great friend like you. xo
Thank you darling
OMG what a great idea! I would be completely nervous to do it though! I have this feeling you would edit my poems to perfection and I may maim yours! But that said, I really think it’s an original idea, not one I had ever even considered! Maybe we should because of that whole ‘feel the fear and do it anyway’ thing (GULP)
OH YES how right you are! Indifference SLAYS you, whereas hate still means someone cares. You completely hit it there.
The continuity, the flow, the rhythm, the whole … is it in your mind before you set words down … or more organic, of words sown? All I know is that when I start to read a piece like this your words take hold and don’t let go…
Beautiful!
💙
*big hugs* Texted you earlier.
Word poems are like rivers that are constant not just in its course but also in its flow of truth 😗💞 candy girl
I’ve come to think of hate as a defense against love, driven by fear of what one would have to do and feel if they allowed themselves to love, to fully live with, “There but for fortune go I.” So long as he can keep screaming his hate, he can drown out that thunderous admonition, “Tat Tvam Asi”, [That thou art, That art thou].
Shall check been feverishly writing today, hope the move is still going okay xo Fingers crossed for the weekend
Thank you so much!
Thank you so much dear friend I am so happy you liked it
Love to you my midnight dancer, I hope you are doing okay, I will write you tomorrow via email BIG LOVE
*nods*
Agreed. The more we condemn others we should look at ourselves. I hear you. I’m not sure about hate. I think in some instances evil exists but many times hate is either fear or self hate or twisted love
Really gets you thinking when you go there with tat tvam asi doesn’t it?
It does.
Excellent imagery; poignant, indeed
Read through your comments section. see what your followers say about your poetry. We all love it, and we love you.
We wouldn’t be looking to improve each other’s poems, only to translate them. I’ll be honest; I know only two poets on WP whose work I truly admire. Your skill with metaphor and your ability to take the reader to where your head is gives you the edge. It was my admiration for strong>your work which gave me the idea, but I don’t know if we could do it.
I’d love to see what you could do with something I’ve written. How about we hold the thought, and see if anything inspires us. You might read something of mine and notice things you would have said differently. The same goes for me… possibly xxx
One thing I do believe is how many people say things is more reflective of how much time you spend cultivating relationships online than how good you are, I have read some poets whose work nobody comments on who are among the best here on WP – just a thought.
I think we could do it. I think we should try. Challenges are good and I don’t do enough of them! And I would with you. Maybe I will go to your site and select a poem and begin this weekend. I really like your idea.
Love to you sweet candy.
Yesss! And I’ll take a stroll through your poems.
This is scary xx
The more I’ve thought about this challenge, the more doubtful I felt. I think your idea is much better than mine. I’ll do the same, but not today. I’m exhausted from knocking the teeth out of a poem that refused to go right. I posted it anyway.
It is! Your idea! Heehee I’m teasing.
Okay the only way I can do this is to “answer” one of your poems so that’s how I’m going to approach it. I chose My Frayed Sleeve.
Deal. No rush. When it comes it comes. Can I have your email and I’ll email you when I’ve done mine?
It’s janepbasil@gmail.com
I’ll watch out for it. I have a habit of ignoring my emails for weeks on end…
YAY! I was trying to find you online all morning I should have just checked this! I will write to you today xo
That last verse .. really hit deep with me