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In the Horizon of Bleak

how does it feel broken
when the edges become rough,
jagged in the horizon of bleak hopeless existence?

savior
salvation

aren't words of religious recognition. are truths
in the world of brittle bravery,giving in at impact.

giving in to the whims of the wind that blows difficultly with dust
hurting your staring eyes and never blinking.

consoler
comfort

aren't familiar words that slide off the tongue like cliches. they are strewn up diamonds in the robes of dreams
among those whose limp limbs hang jointless from the branches of winter trees.

and the shards of porcelain glean in in their innocence and as pieces misunderstanding their wholeness
like phantom arms they move in imagined perfection.

broken
breaking

for those who hurt have learned to be in the nest of nettles.
for those who have nothing know not the absence of a being,
of completeness

they wrap themselves in concrete hardness of infallible tongues and invincible armor that fold not in sympathy and kindness, immune to the whims of abstractions, of emotions

and of love
they know nothing of....



nothing


in the horizon of bleak.

say what you think.

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Reviews

  • mojojames
    March 31, 2008

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    A new take on an old war...

    You've fleshed out the sides on this one saviour/consoler vs. the ones who hurt, the controllers.
    "strewn up diamonds in the robes of dreams" is a great phrase, it flashes a feeling of hope, of redemption in the face of the attack. Should be 'whose' in the third line of that same stanza. The conclusion, starting with "For those who hurt have learned to be in the nest of nettles..." on to the end struck me as the awareness that even though they have a "concrete hardness" it is the softness and pliability and resilience of real love that eventually will tell, eventually will overcome the darkness. I sense modern references for this piece, but there is a timelessness in what you've fashioned. Nice Work, MJ

    . Rewarded 8


    • iphios
      April 1, 2008
      Edit | Reply
      Hi MJ,
      There was a story in my head when i wrote this poem, but you capture the core of this poem. Yes, at the end of the day the resilience of the heart will overcome darkness. Somehow. Thanks for pointing out the correction. I'm glad this worked for you.

      -iphios