Photograph by Jill Battaglia
The fragrance of lilacs takes me back
to your gloomy house, your gloomy heart,
where, together, we fashioned a chimera:
you, the fire-breathing dragon,
me, the she-goat, blindly loving
one who had no wish to be loved.
Your blackbird heart has haunted me,
down all the years. The blackbird song
we sang
we sang
brings me to tears.
Your mask of suffering
bade me to move on.
You called my name, then,
but too late.
Already,
I was gone.
Already,
I was gone.
for Shay's word list. I used fragrance, lilacs, chimera, gloomy, haunted, song, suffer(ing) and mask.
Sometimes when we are hurting, we cannot be in a relationship completely. I can relate to this beautiful poem my friend. Gorgeous writing Sherry!
ReplyDeleteAnd well out of it, I expect. But you got this very lovely poem out of it.
ReplyDeleteOddly, this was the only man I ever loved. But I was a free spirit and, as he told me, his spirit was not free. And he was not ready to liberate it.
ReplyDeleteblindly loving
ReplyDeleteone who had no wish to be loved... what a beautiful poem about a tragic situation.. this resonates deeply, Sherry.
How the blackbird songs of our old loves come back to haunt. I always hope that what was missed and lost can be at least partially recovered in poems like this, if only the warmth we wished was there. Of course, as you note here, we must create it ourselves when the other has none to give. Beautiful, Sherry.
ReplyDeleteThis is a good poem, a powerful and honest one. I understand how sometimes those blackened hearts can haunt a person a long time.
ReplyDeleteExcellent - this one has a real flow to it.
ReplyDelete"Together, we fashioned a chimera" is such a potent line. Those kind of relationships are a dangerous beast that leaves little room for peace.
ReplyDeleteahh, the man with a blackbird heart. *sigh*
ReplyDeletea very haunting poem sherry, i liked these lines best
ReplyDelete"Your blackbird heart has haunted me,
down all the years. The blackbird song
we sang
brings me to tears."
and i like the ending too, i like how it widdles down to a slow closing. well done
A whole story in just a few well-chosen words. Love this
ReplyDelete"where, together, we fashioned a chimera:
ReplyDeleteyou, the fire-breathing dragon,
me, the she-goat," -- ooh, that's great!
Some things and more so some people in memory haunt all the rest of our lives. I enjoyed reading here, Sherry. Have a nice day.
ReplyDelete..
"Your mask of suffering"...I pondered long on the line. There's so much hurt in this life.
ReplyDelete