Sunday 12 June 2016

Fancy dress





However timid my heart, I will wear
it where I please, on my sleeve or my hat
or under linen skin, layer upon layer;
hide it within the staunchest rib, a nightmare
maze of bone and secrets, crosshatched slats,
but they’ll still find it and pick it quite bare.


The hats too shorn of every rosette, the caps,
of feathers, badges; would you know me then
for your own among this mass of passive men?
They’ll pluck it clean from the cloth, a pulse, a sob
of breath, a scrap of flesh, hardly a throb,
a drop of blood on the wires of timetraps.



19 comments:

  1. Dark and poignant.
    A sob of breath particularly hits home.

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  2. Someone always finds a way to the heart, for better or worse. Very moving.

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    Replies
    1. More people wanting to for the worse always, I am afraid. Though when I posted I hadn't heard about Orlando still...

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  3. And you can pierce the heart with words.

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    Replies
    1. The wiser the heart the more easily it's pierced I think..

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  4. Thank you for this impressive post

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  5. Hi Nila - "a nightmare maze of bone and secrets" - wonderful descriptions ... I can feel and see the layers being torn away ... cheers Hilary

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    1. Each one of us is a maze! :) thanks, Hilary.

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  6. Very impressive, as always. Enjoyed it.

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  7. Beautiful! Especially love the 2nd half of the 2nd stanza. Beautiful.
    Joy @ The Joyous Living

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  8. My heart is a muscle of flesh and blood
    The games they play are in my head up above
    They rip at the fibers of what I’m made of
    Leaving me without kindness or feelings of love
    Over time they will rip out what I call my soul
    They say they do it with love, I’m tolled

    Your words to me are like fingers of pain
    Ripping at this muscle over and over again
    Yet you showed me where this nightmare began
    It started with me, because I let them all in

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    Replies
    1. Good to hear from you! Hope all is well with you.

      All pain, pleasure, joy begins there, with our own selves, doesn't it? Keep that muscle toned and safe! :)

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  9. This is outstanding and complex. I love the last line.

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