It's an easy removal, the soul from the skin
Just as you shift from one thing to another
That old soul, the innocent one, the mean one
The one that stayed up waiting out a friend's
Grief. Just gone with a click and a hiss.
There's the seed of the new one, writhing
Like a hangover flying from your backbone.
And you know they'll take that one, too.
There's always some line for you to cross,
There at the flashpoint, where all the suns
Rise, explode, and set at once. There--
Eternity fixed to the universal emptiness
Edging sight: the black, the afterimage
Of all the souls you've raised in the belly
Of your life, swallowed and swimming.
Okay, to be honest...this image just creeps me out. So, perfect choice. :) And thanks to The Sunday Muse for providing the inspiration and to Poets and Storytellers United for providing a Sunday morning full of poetry. This weekend is a recharge for me, so I'm working through my stack of graphic novels, one supermarket romance, one literary analysis (for research), one book on the awesomeness of libraries. Which, of course they are. Hopefully, next week will find me back on the project track--although, to be honest, I'm still going to be working through that reading list. :)
Best wishes for a week full of words!
-- Chrissa
CHRISSA! This poem just Knocks. Me. Out. Seriously. The removal of the soul from the skin, the new one writhing. My favourite of yours. Stellar work.
ReplyDeleteThis is a fine, cogent bit of poetry that uses words like the weapons and paintbrushes of emotion they can be. Very satisfying read, and I pleasure to meet your work. I especially love that second stanza's imagery, and the skillful lead into the close.
ReplyDeleteI have a feeling Chinook would like this one, don't you?
DeleteYes, especially that last line.
DeletePS Chrissa, Chinook is my dearly beloved dog who passed a few years back, and still swims in my belly in her pictures.
DeleteOooh, dark, Chrissa, unusually so, for you. It IS kind of a creepy image, isn't it?
ReplyDeleteBeautiful
ReplyDeleteThis photo was not creepy to me, perhaps because I am preparing to move into a new home. It seemed to be a hand reaching from the mists of the past into the future, and I have to admit I altered it a bit and adapted it to my present reality for the Sunday Muse challenge.
ReplyDeleteIf this poem was a plate of food I would eat it slowly never completely finishing it so I could have it to eat on for days to come. This is a classic example of why I adore your poetry Chrissa! You say what cannot be said so eloquently! It may be dark but it holds a brilliance that will go with me for a long long time!!
ReplyDeleteThis is deliciously dark and brooding!💝 I am especially struck by the image of "Edging sight: the black, the afterimage of all the souls you've raised in the belly of your life." Wow!💝
ReplyDeleteA dark poem indeed. Precise knifework in this.
ReplyDeleteDark but beautiful. Nice one.
ReplyDeleteI love the images here, and all the souls... so many souls. The comparison of the new soul to hangover, and the final two lines are absolute gold.
ReplyDeleteAn absolutely fascinating and compelling piece of imagination.
ReplyDeleteI would love to hear you read this! Sitting here imagining how your words would sound. Awesome write ......
ReplyDelete"It's an easy removal, the soul from the skin" - love that!
ReplyDeleteThat first sentence sets the tone so damn well, and the follow through is delightfully dark.
ReplyDelete"There's the seed of the new one, writhing
ReplyDeleteLike a hangover flying from your backbone." Just a little bit of dark pessimism here! LOL. I love the title, every line, especially the explosion of the last stanza--and then suddenly my perspective shifted so it was less someone else capturing the souls and more the narrator gnawing on all the souls in herself. A very different and amazing picture. Very intriguing.
delightfully dark. it seems like you are able to suck up one's soul with the click of the shutter, and the power of your words.
ReplyDeleteyour poem is something that i wished i had written. :)
Dark and delicious Chrissa, love it.
ReplyDeleteI too wish I had written it, but I think I lack your magic with words.
Anna :o]
It's like the big bang birthing ourselves!
ReplyDeletePerfect dark poem for the image. I tried to write for this one, but nothing came.
ReplyDeleteLove those ending lines in this dark (and yes, creepy) poem.
ReplyDelete