Let it bleed
There's this woman
made of paper & cardboard
When it rains, she wrinkles
Under the sun, she is veins
pulsing of energy
She allows colors
to seep out of her
words, skin, hair, mouth
She threads pain
with double knots
underneath her ribs
At night she sews her hands
with wires
By morning, she is fist &
birthing
of things she
passionately believes
& endures
folding, refolding, unfolding, folding
She is content with
distance of moon & stars,
changing sea tides, storms, thaw-
She knows what she can change
and what she can't
Her body is canvas,
inked by earth, wind & sky.
One day I will unravel her
light
fervor
ardent words
inside of me.
And let it all bleed.
Posted for OpenLinkNight of D'verse Poets Pub - Thanks for the visit ~
Also please check out my lune poems as Personal Challenge from Michael (or grapeling) here ~
Nicely 'threaded' and 'sewn' poem, Grace. I especially liked the lines about birthing things that she passionately believes .....and that she knows what she can change and what she cannot. We all have to learn that, I think!
ReplyDeleteThe picture is an inspiration ~ Thank you Mary ~
Deleteto be content with distance of moon & stars
ReplyDeletetricky that ~ thanks Dezzy ~
Deletesuch women , i guess hides in us too
ReplyDeletei like to believe so Vandana ~ thanks ~
DeleteThis is beautiful...I wonder is this woman metaphorical or literal. Regardless, thank you for sharing her story with us :)
ReplyDeleteA lifetime goal, our mothers and grandmothers if we are lucky, are proof ~ Thanks Keith ~
Deletereally enjoyed this, Grace! love the paper and cardboard wrinkle in rain, thaws folding unfolding, sewed wire hands and know what she can and cannot change. this has so much, irony, relateable metaphors. very nice, mi amiga
ReplyDeletenow, will you please take your frigid temperatures back up north :-) Brrrrrr!
oh please, we are suffering enough already ~ today with wind chill its -30 C ~ hey, we like the sun too, smiles ~
DeleteLove, love, love, this. A new personal favorite and one that seemed to really reach into the core of me.
ReplyDeleteThank you Kathryn ~
Deletehow cool is that...much better than stone... the interaction with the elements...the penetrability.... openness... connection with the elements...so very cool
ReplyDeleteYes, that is what I thought so too ~ Thanks for the lovely words Claudia ~
DeleteSway with the wind and rain, bending and never breaking, way to be at ones sea
ReplyDeleteSo lovely, like music to my eyes!
ReplyDeleteMany of us would be a lot happier if we realized what we could change and what we couldn't. Well done, Grace. Have a beautiful and and as always, thank you!
ReplyDeleteAn amazing write. Dare I say, one of your best? Imagery and nuance illuminate the page with depth of meaning.
ReplyDeleteThis is quite amazing, beauty, power and grace all entwined. The power of letting it bleed, through the open veins, ink, all such awesome images. This is an amazing poem.
ReplyDeleteI wrote a poem about letting my words bleed...I have not finished it. This resonates with me today.
ReplyDeletewow, very creative and amazing... esp liked
ReplyDelete"She threads pain
with double knots
underneath her ribs" this really moved me... no one should hold on so tightly to their pain... but sometimes it certainly does feel like it's sewn to us... been guilty of that myself...
This is really, really wonderful! You speak for Woman herself: there is an organic, mineral quality to her, paper and cardboard, beaten by the elements, folding and unfolding, the pains and the joys, the wisdom and... out of it we try to bleed those words. I love almost every single line of it!
ReplyDeleteSomehow the woman you portrayed reminds me of Penelope, weaving and unweaving with dogged persistence. You got great inspiration from the statue, Grace!
ReplyDeleteGreat metaphor for the inner self. Enjoyed this.
ReplyDeleteAmazingly rendered, Grace. I love the raw feeling within the entirety and this really struck me,
ReplyDelete"she is fist &
birthing
of things she
passionately believes"
Yes, beauty.
Oh must you unravel her? She worked so hard to keep it in, and if she bleeds so much I think she'll die!
ReplyDeleteWell that is quite a perspective M ~ I would like to believe she knows when to keep it in, and when to bleed it out ~ Thanks ~
DeleteHer body is canvas,
ReplyDeleteinked by earth, wind & sky.
So many of us have our life-histories etched into our skin by the elements - and into our minds by our circumstances and the things that are done to us, whether we are willing or not.
So true Tony ~
DeleteThis has power, Grace. Beautiful work.
ReplyDeleteThank you MZ ~
DeleteThoughtful, well-rendered, passionate. At night she sews her hands with wires.. that is so cool... and the end when one day you will unravel her.. of course. Love it..
ReplyDeleteYes..i suppose sculpture is always blessed with the now of no
ReplyDeletethought..
And to let it be like that..
is a goal..i like to take..
and even path..
to BE...
and oh
ReplyDeletewhat a release of letting go
at last
Is this woman empirical or just poetical? Whatever. I wish I could sit for coffee with her. <3
ReplyDeleteI used the artist work & ideas for my words ~ But she can be real, smiles ~
DeleteVery dynamic. >KB
ReplyDeleteAn interesting post that I enjoyed reading.
ReplyDeleteThank you. Love love, Andrew. Bye.
I like how what she knows she can change allows her to be content.
ReplyDeleteto be content - I like this, thank you ~
DeleteA terrific hook for the poem, the impermanence of a paper sculpture, vs. stone, wood, concrete, steel--more like the fragility of humans; great ride; best of the day.
ReplyDeleteImpermanence and resilience, Thank you Glenn ~
DeleteThis is a woman who has traveled a journey and demonstrates resilience...
ReplyDeleteYes, I agree with you ~
Deletethat's quite a twist, Grace, moving from the abstract other to the very personal thou ~
ReplyDeletethou - the last time I used this was in my Philosophy class, smiles ~ Thanks M ~
DeleteGrace - such a powerful poem you have here. Admire it.
ReplyDeleteThank you Abhra ~
ReplyDeleteAll which life has done to me--and my reluctant acceptance, makes up who I am. And yet, there is always time left to change...everything. I cannot make those changes alone. Awakening--creepily slow, or sudden--will come when I am open my mind, become willing, and honest. IOW, when I am ready.
ReplyDeleteHow simply and beautifully you write with such depth. Words which have huge meaning.
Amazing, Grace.
A woman of grace putting up so much to be admired. Strength of character and resilience seem so appropriate to her. Nicely Grace!
ReplyDeleteHank
Beautifully written Grace. Such a strong yearning, yet bound in a painful hesitation here. I want you to free her! I love this. Beautiful!
ReplyDeleteThat's a beautiful poem. This woman made of cardboard is inside all of us.
ReplyDeleteHow beautiful, Grace. How beautiful--the wrinkles, veins, pulsing and colors bleeding from the cardboard and paper lady--the threading, knotting sewing--but especially the folding and re- and un-. So content, such a canvass! To internalize her would be to bleed indeed.
ReplyDelete…”she is content with / distance of moon & stars”---I, also, like these lines, Grace… she’s such a woman of grace… I loved it! smiles…
ReplyDeleteI commented and it vanished so if it pops up again, please feel free to delete.
ReplyDeleteOnce again you have 'graced' us with your stunning words, I gave a gentle sigh when I read this. We are her. This is sublime.
A beautiful portrait of woman's strength and resilience.
ReplyDeletewow...i love how you have painted her....fists and birthing on waking....
ReplyDeletethe fierceness and the contentment, it paints her from different angles
i like the textures too of wire and cardboard...hard and soft places....
sorry i am late, my computer crashed and i am on a loner today....
DeleteNo worries Brian ~ Thanks for the visit ~
DeleteAbsolutely fascinating character you've created. Love the imagery.
ReplyDeleteSuch a passionate write, I really enjoyed it.
ReplyDeleteyour poem complemented the picture very well. Beautiful writing, Grace. :-)
ReplyDeleteI think her description by you represents so many of us...women. The part about enduring and folding, refolding, unfolding...spoke to me of how we adapt and change as our circumstances require. Strong voice in this, Grace...I like that.
ReplyDelete"She allows colors to seep out of her"...such a vivid image. Beautiful
ReplyDeleteHer body is canvas,
ReplyDeleteinked by earth, wind & sky...
...love these lines. The whole piece is full of such life and movement...excellent piece of writing.
Grace this is gorgeous, every line… I feel her, she is all of us.
ReplyDeleteI had to read this a few times over a couple of days, bleeding is for the injured. I will let reality written of show my colors and my distance for the center of the cosmos.
ReplyDeleteSuch a powerful analogy, Grace. It made me think of a bible quote from St. Paul "We are God's work of art." We are, each of us, made up of many colors and textures and we are fragile and we do, indeed, bleed. Quite beautiful.
ReplyDeleteOh my this is such a powerful poem! I simply love it! I am so glad I visited you here :-) Thank you so much for inspiring me!
ReplyDelete