I have now gotten rid of mostly
every word I thought for you last year.
now they burn in my head among
blurred, naive memories
now they are ashes sprinkled
so far into the woods
the wind won't find them,
we won't see them again.
You come to me in a dream tentatively
because you know, being tired,
I'm likely to scream. Because you know,
being angry, I'm likely to forget.
Your smile touches the skin on my chest
I have been waiting outside in the cold for so long,
I want to use the time I have left
to finally learn you.
There is such an interesting turn around in this poem, Kenia. The triumphant purging of the words at the beginning, the permission given to self to move on from the past, and then the dream visitations which suggests that the subconscious is not so ready to let go. Your poetry is always so humane.
ReplyDeleteI agree, you've turned the end into something unexpected. ~
ReplyDelete"I have been waiting outside in the cold for so long,"
ReplyDeleteI know that feel, sis.
I wait within your silence
ReplyDeleteand replicate the emptiness
you left around.
The opening is perfect Kernia! Treading along a path that is way clear to emulate so that good things can be expected. Wonderful write!
Hank