I remember being five, counting the time it took for an earthquake to trigger a tsunami. I remember plucking petals from roses just because I found away without getting struck by thorns. I remember yelling, stealing all the oxygen from the world, running away from home, just because I could. just because there was nothing there to stop me when I wronged.
I thought I was above it all.
I thought the sky rained to cool my fire eyes and I thought the clouds dissipated out of fear of my lips, curled and bitter.
a mother scrimmaged in a dumpster last night. she tore apart banana peels, scattering them in a circle around her feet, thinking the fairies would come if she whispered sonnets with eighteen syllable lines. but they never did and fury screamed across her fingers.
she scratched the dirt so furiously searching for those blossom wings and pixie dust that worms got stuck inside her nails.
her daughter was five.
laying under an ocean, eyes unblinking.
fish wrapped her in silt, hoping to cover her frozen pulse. sharks tore at her limbs, deconstructing a human that hadn’t loved or broke.
the mother never knew her daughter. maybe she didn’t even realise she had given birth.
she shot up on heroin at night and tried to forget about things like that.
I liked it better when death was just simply death.
when it was emotional, when it was unfair.
when fathers cried vengeance against the world,
when families forgot their work and mourned.
when goodnight was spoken to one less room, when vodka became the equivalent of grieving.
because that was human.
fuck it.
tomorrow can be today for all I care.
Author notes
Prompt:
"I would like to write about nicer things or fiction but we shouldn't avoid reality should we? The things I have just written are the truth. They are very hard to write about. I am lonely. Forgive me. I am lonely." -James Dean
A contest entry
- she wrote prose from her head to her toes; by xxRainbowDawnxx.
800 points, ended August 11, 41 entries
• next poem in this contest, remove from contest - there's gonna be a knife fight in china town. by bird-mad girl.
1750 points, ended September 8, 14 entries
• next poem in this contest, remove from contest
you rip my heart right out
Comments
1 - 6 of 6
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I felt like the different subject matters together felt really random, like they're meant to be in separate pieces. personally, I think they're strong enough to stand on their own.
the section that really crushed me was the bit about death. it wasn't because these past two years of my life have been swamped with death but because of the way you wrote about it. it was soft but suffocating. it felt like those nights I found out they were gone. it was very stirring. my favorite line for that part was: "when goodnight was spoken to one less room..." it made me want to cry.
thank you for entering
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Wow, A stunning piece of prose, It made me need to go read a happy poem now, haha in a good way.
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fucking awesome. Some GREAT imagery here and as always, you capture emotions I have felt, or am feeling at some point. Love word choice, absolutely stunningly beautiful :]
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this is a sad but amazing poem!
it left me speechless.
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'I remember being five, counting the time it took for an earthquake to trigger a tsunami. I remember plucking petals from roses just because I found away without getting struck by thorns. I remember yelling, stealing all the oxygen from the world, running away from home, just because I could. just because there was nothing there to stop me when I wronged.
I thought I was above it all.
I thought the sky rained to cool my fire eyes and I thought the clouds dissipated out of fear of my lips, curled and bitter.'
an amazing opening. really wowie.
'when goodnight was spoken to one less room, when vodka became the equivalent of grieving.
because that was human.'
that is painful to read. just sadness ebbs from every syllable.
you are brilliant.
♥
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the first stanza, simply beautiful
the second stanza, amazing, sad. poignant
the third stanza, again sad but beautiful
the last two lines blew me out of the water
love i
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