Broken Utterly (e.g., self-pity)

[Just another in a seemingly endless series of poems during the period about heartbreak and self-recrimination. A redeeming feature in this example, in my mind, is there seems to be more than a hint of humor and an awareness of how these feelings are very commonplace as relationships end. As the saying goes, I got over it.

Once again I run up against the formatting limitations of Blogger. Lines of the third verse were indented somewhat differently in the original. These difficulties in reproducing the form I originally envisioned is affecting my choices of which poems I'm putting here. I'm tending to avoid those with complex levels of indenting. I think that's a shame because some of those poems are also more complex in structure because of these visual cues. That's my opinion.]

Broken Utterly (e.g., self-pity)

tell me once again
can't hear you
the bloody movement of hands
deep in warm entrails
savage glee, the talons rip
thrust thru the surface of
the best things in the world
things you can’t find
in darkness
want to be kind
snarl out the syllables
in mean violet tones of pain
maddened creature struggling

tell me once again
i'11 shout it out
without any thought
sad confusion
never wanted to love
never asked for this
it comes demonshape spastic
flailing limbs of victims
such a scandal
such an event
so nothing
all zeros drawn on
a deepblue backdrop
more pain
more dogs

torn out the heart beats slowly pulsing

game of catch as catch can played very intensely

dropped cold in the grey dust

shiny shoes step lightly on dead muscle

with no strength left to contract

tell me once again
intimacy can kill
maybe i'll believe you
this time
the fragments of antipersonnel
weapons screaming in the air
filling walking forms
to the brim
trapped by the situation
the buzzing combat flies
barred from the continuum
a real flair
for this destiny
a triumph of some weakness
taken in years ago
on voyages without number
to lands without names
it could happen to you


March, 1980
©2006 wordlackey for php