Poem of Protection - Words of Warding
I blaze.
My flames flicker,
without your bountiful rains.
My fires gutter,
without your waters to quench my thirst.
I look at the skies,
silent and empty.
I look around me,
but there's nothing to block my vision
of eternity.
I let go.
I rise to the heavens - a pillar of flame,
accusing,
I colour them with my rage and sorrow.
The world is a sickly red.
The ashes of grief,
strangle
all signs of remaining life.
I stalk the banks of your rivers,
looking for the flicker of your smile in my reflection.
I haunt the shores of your oceans,
listening for the echo of your laughter in the whisper of the waves.
My heart compresses.
My soul shrivels.
There is no longer a name,
for this angel of snuffed flame.
I cry these words
into the ether,
I shout them at the world
to need them never.
I BLAZE.
This piece is about loss. Loss that did not occur, thus its name, following a tradition that by speaking of bad luck, we can ward it off. This piece, as are them all, is dedicated to and inspired by @mamadini
Check out my latest pieces:
- Why You Should Pick the 50/50 Reward Split
- Shitposting - The Defense Mechanism of Lonely Geeks (And Corporation Co-opting)
- Burning the Veils (Poem)
art and flair courtesy of @PegasusPhysics
Image source: Image by Francisco Negroni/ AgenciaUno/Associated Press.
© Guy Shalev 2018
This is potent and beautiful, just like you! Thank you for the protection magic. <3
AND ::Blush::
I'll do my best to deliver the other half this week <3
This line in particular caught my eye. Love the images you've put forward here, of loss and how one person can help you through it. Gorgeously done.
I'm really pleased these lines in particular called for you, as aside from imagery, and lines that speak more to me emotionally, these are the lines that spoke the most to me personally. And I mean by that that these are the lines that bring out the most of my personal symbology, and of my poetic history.
The last stanza is the idea core of the piece, and the emotional core of the piece? Why, it is all of it one raw heart.
I love the juxtaposition of fire and water and the contradiction of flames being supported by water.
Ah, sometimes metaphors chain us, but sometimes they free us so! It's also related to the imagery @mamadini and I use for ourselves and one another, both in prior poems (here by her, and a response by me here), and outside of poetry.
Besides, it does make for a strong image. Does fire need not to drink, and breathe? Does water not feel the fire of passion within its heart?
The ashes of grief,
beautiful
In Jewish grieving tradition, you tear your clothes, and smear yourself with ashes and dirt. I did try to fit that in, and it works well with the notion of a post-apocalyptic or volcanic environs of losing one's reason to live.
And yes, this imagery in particular took some effort to put in, though I did want to fit it in.
Loving the vivid sense of Railing against that loss. That maddening refusal to accept driving you on-wards, Ruthlessly.
That's a very Twinky read :) Well, it's sort of the correct read, but it was still very much a "You" read in what you focused on. Glad you liked it :)
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I love the idea of writing it as a way of warding off an unwanted occurrence.
"looking for the flicker of your smile in my reflection"... I've done that. But never put it in those words. If this is about a loss you haven't actually suffered... you sure write as if you had!
Following :)
Well, I have this thing where I imagine close ones dying. So I felt these feelings before writing the piece, and yeah, not the easiest.
And yeah, nothing like some wards for loved ones either :)
No doubt!
This particular image was the one that spoke to me the most. It feels so desolate and like the moment of anger turning to despair is right in here. It begins with stalking which is so aggressive. Actively searching, almost demanding of the universe that you be given back something of your lost love, but by the close of this stanza you are passive, only haunting and listening for echoes.
At least that is how it speaks to me, and your poetry does which is a near miracle. I commend you for the artistry of your work and for your courage in baring your heart and soul. You and @mamadini may start a romantic revolution with all these beautiful words of love and longing being displayed ;)
I feel the turn begins the stanza prior, and here it's already despair. But despair sets in, and sets in deeper. Here, no longer looking for her, but just for memories of her presence. There's already the giving up here, in what the search is for.
And thank you for the kind words Jess. Someone joked I could start a book of poetry with my poems for @mamadini, but it seems like at the rate it is going, it might very well come true. And of course, thanks to my muse <3
Upvoted your comment instead of the poem since it is beyond 7 days.
I really liked the imagery used in this piece. You have a way of transporting us to a new, parallel world. It's kind of like Frodo when he puts the ring on, a different and slightly distorted world. Nice work.
This is an interesting notion, on the role of poetry. Is poetry's role to show us a world truer than true, or to show us a world that never is, and never was, and have us consider those never-beens and almost-weres?
Wonderful poetry! Such feeling I love it!
Was a bit hard writing it, because I had to actually channel these feelings for it. Thank you for the kind words :)