Tuesday, September 17, 2013

Fishbones

My spine stiffens before the devouring:
Close eyes, feel nothing, not even disgust
Hardening becomes the norm, factor & given
Picked clean to the bones, I gather my salt

At night, weave & cast net for words & foam
By the light of harvest moon, flesh & fins quiver
There is partaking of a different kind: deep
Nourishing blood, spewing poison rotting the lungs




Posted for D'verse Poets Pub - OpenLinkNight ~  Thanks for the visit ~ 

52 comments:

  1. Lung rot would hurt a whole lot lol many levels to this one, nicely done

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  2. This poem reminds me of how parts of us can slowly erode over time if we're not careful.

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    1. Yes, if we allow circumstances ~ Thank you Keith ~

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  3. oh heck.. the stiffening...feeling nothing.. to me speaks of some sort of emotional death which is probably worse than real death.. it's tough to find that thawing point again then...

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    1. But we always try to find that point to replenish us, don't you think ~ Thanks Claudia ~

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  4. This poem has a very dark feeling to it, Grace. "Poison rotting the lungs" is a very visceral image.

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    1. Yes, dark Mary but the ending is not meant to be ~ Thanks ~

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  5. dark for you, Grace...

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    1. The theme yes, as I like experimentation ~ Plus the imagery points towards such darkness ~

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  6. Is there love lost,or just vitriol spilling out in dark puddles? We do hear & feel you with this dark tome, and applaud your brevity & bravery. Thanks.

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  7. Very thought-provoking, intense... so many vivid images... beautiful, Grace.

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  8. . . . Nourishing blood, spewing poison rotting the lungs, dark and I like it.

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  9. I read this, probably mistaken, as gleaning inspiration from the bones through a kind of divination.>KB

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  10. Light wil ignite youbones..I shared that from coldplay by the way..

    wil..With i love

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  11. Darkness is engraved in these words. It made me think. Apt metaphors here... very well-written.

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  12. This sounds "vampirish" to me--guess it's "in the blood"...
    Grace, you just don't give an impression of "blood-spilling,
    poison-spewing, lung-rotting type person... but yoou sure get across a message of darkness, like hell-on-earth type of thing.

    YOU know how to write Ma'am!

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  13. Wow.... this is a deep piece. Love it!

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  14. very intense..your words touch my soul..

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  15. I love the fish/fisher of words theme here

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  16. ...not even disgust.

    That is the most disturbing part for me. How numb one can become, how desensitized.

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  17. whew...what a close on this one grace...that last line is a stunner....nice use of the bones as well...the picked clean and salt line is cool too...i like the bit of a turn between the two stanzas as well....

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  18. Grace,
    What a riddling piece this is! I see it as distinguishing between the things we are forced to do to live (Hardening becomes the norm factor & given Picked clean to the bones)and the gathering of salt, nourishment and satisfaction from weaving the net that gathers words. Can it be that the other partaking, the "deep nourishing blood, spewing poison rotting the lungs" is a figure about the frustration of finding the wrong things in our net???? Or maybe a scary examination of the motives and genesis of what we pull from out dark seas? Not sure. Forgive me if I'm over analyzing. I'm going to have to come back for another visit.
    Steve

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    1. I love your interpretation Steve ~ Yes, you captured the first part of my emotional state hence, the vulnerability then the hardening of the skin ~ The second part is a contrast, a redemption of my core by gathering my nourishment and weaving the words close to me ~ In partaking of the meal, I feel nourished, filled again, reborn if you will after spewing out the poison from my lungs ~ I appreciate your thoughtful comments ~

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  19. Very hard-hitting in its strength and brevity, Grace. Formidable!

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  20. A powerful and dark poem with vivid imagery!

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  21. A surrealist poem with a hint of perfection at its best. :)

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  22. Very dark for being you... and the metaphors are stunning.

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  23. picked clean to the bone..certainly have felt that pain before..

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  24. I love the play off Kathryn's painting.... Your poem uses words to paint the same picture. Dark, perhaps, but filled with truth and life and survival.

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  25. A dark and heavy piece indeed Grace and a little different - which is a good thing. I like to see us as writers expand our horizons. Your words complimented the picture perfectly. This was delightfully dark.

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  26. "There is partaking of a different kind: deep"
    powerful line, I can sink in here

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  27. Very entertaining and I just got back from fishing, hold the salt, and all I caught was a lovely sunset. Enjoyed this very much!

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  28. Going to the seas where none but the bold go, bringing metaphor and imagery from places many fear to tread, the inner sea. Let the lungs rot, you have no need of them there anyway.

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  29. flesh & fins quiver
    There is partaking of a different kind: deep
    Nourishing blood, spewing poison rotting the lungs

    It's a chilling kind of feel. It gives some sense of loss but is still aware of bad times to appreciate it better. Nicely Grace!

    Hank

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  30. beautiful, evocative imagery and metaphor.

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  31. Wonderfully painful descriptive detail!

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  32. Corruptive flesh [mortality's reality], blood is life -giving yet, deathly as well ... a continuous paradoxical vision for me. Exceptional writing, as you know friend ~Debbie

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  33. Feeling picked clean is not a good thing, but I love your stiffened backbone and resolve to cast your net for words...and foam. Ephemeral and visceral at the same time, Grace.

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  34. Grace, you have such a gift for imagery--love that gather my salt-cast net for words and foam :-)

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  35. Nicely layered visuals in this, Grace. Captivating read.

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  36. I agree so many layers-it felt powerful and dark!
    The last line is so vivid I can feel the salted brine
    sting~
    Great job

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  37. This felt like the death and reincarnation of a fish--perhaps in a modern river - your language quite riveting -- hooking--thanks, Grace. ( This is Karin - Manicddaily--blogger's eaten one comment so sticking to blogger ID.) Have a great day. k.

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  38. now this was an intense one, Grace

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