Post-Trauma
By MistakenMagic
Mon, 01 Feb 2010
- 7823 reads
31 comments
Somewhere a woman is screaming,
clinging to a bundle of blankets -
fumbling with the fraying fabric ...
Inside, her baby, blue as bruising -
not breathing, heart stopped beating.
They're tearing it from her -
she's wailing, weeping.
They tell her it’s over -
but she won't listen.
She’s clutching at straws,
gripping the tiny form.
I feel her fear.
That's when I wake, cradling my bedsheets.
The pillows dripping with tears.
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Comments
This is so sad yet very
This is so sad yet very beautifully expressed, I hope you start sleeping better soon. I think the short sentences work very well.
Beeme xx
k.
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Personally I prefer darker
Personally I prefer darker pieces, I know that may sound strange ;-) . I forgot to say that I enjoyed this very much ! I love the way you've built up the atmosphere. Really well done.
Beeme xx
k.
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As Beeme says, Magic - the
Permalink Submitted by Silver Spun Sand on
As Beeme says, Magic - the atmosphere you have created with this, comparitively short poem, is incredible. A real talent;-)
And now I'm off to eat that pizza!
Tina xxx
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This so powerfully written,
This so powerfully written, "blue as bruising" hits the spot on a number of levels.
I hesitate to use the word beautiful (due to subject matter), yet well executed falls woefully short of the mark. I'll settle for "a brilliant narration of a tracic circumstance".
David :--)
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Not a word is wasted in this
Not a word is wasted in this poem, as David says, powerful and brilliant, well deserved cherry too!
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Hi Magic, Your quite right,
Hi Magic,
Your quite right, to quote you "there are many pieces of poetry out there with dark subject matter that can be called 'tragically beautiful' ". Your poem is most definitely one of them.
David xx :--)
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This is good - really good
This is good - really good indeed. The words chosen seem to give a sense both of urgency and utter distress. You can almost hear the wailing.
If I could just make a point though. I'm not sure about pillows 'dripping' with tears as a metaphor. It seems more like an oxymoron. How about 'sodden' instead (it's a word that you have almost to spit out) which might add a hint of harshness to the feeling of despair you intended to capture?
Just a thought.
It's a really powerful poem anyway and I think, excellently done.
Helvigo Jenkins
Helvigo Jenkins
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That's fine, Magic, it was
That's fine, Magic, it was only a thought. I see what you mean too, the 'ing' sound does resonate better with the previous uses.
Helvigo Jenkins
Helvigo Jenkins
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Very wonderful. Sometimes
Very wonderful. Sometimes the 'it was all a dream' ending detracts but here I think it works very well - transforms it from a (thankfully rare) event, which would have just seemed sad, to something more connecting with the reader - the deep-rooted fears and terrifying images which come out in dreams. Or something like that. For the record, I liked the 'dripping pillow'.
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I almost, no not almost, I
Permalink Submitted by vidit.chopra on
I almost, no not almost, I clapped in admiration after reading the last line!!!
This is excellent.
Vidit
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First line grabs, and the
First line grabs, and the rest doesn't let go. I'm another who likes dark and this is very strong. Yes, beautiful. Like Kheldar, i was going to pick out 'blue as bruising' as just right.
~ mand
The Travel Hopefully Blog
~ mand
The Travel Hopefully Blog
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There was something nagging
There was something nagging at me about this poem, something somehow familiar. It's only just occured to me what it is.
It's reminiscent of 'Not Waving but Drowning' by Stevie Smith. The repeated use of the present participle is a strong theme here, just as it is in Smith's poem. As a result, the overal effect and what I immediately felt was similar to that when I first read 'Not Waving but Drowning'.
This I find interesting. Was it intentional, Magic? If so, you've done a fine job of realising and provoking very similar emotions.
I'm now certain that you were right to trust your instincts and retain 'dripping'.
Again - Well done!
Helvigo Jenkins
Helvigo Jenkins
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new MistakenMagic Congrats;
Permalink Submitted by Cavalcader on
new MistakenMagic
Congrats; on cherry!
Really so powerful I can
feel it all, maybe as a Mum.
tears of pain, tears sadness
tears of joy.and post traumatic stress once said words? only for me.Who know what really.
well most poems I have been there or experienced.x
julie x
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O Magic, Wonderful you can
O Magic, Wonderful you can put those emotions in a way more bearable to wrap my head around and help other people to understand that these mothers aren't crazy, it's just love. This moved me inside, I too would myself call it beautiful. Sad maybe, but I am also one who empathises with your dark emotions. I'm very glad for you that this was cherry-picked. Kahdai x
"I will make sense with a few reads \^^/ "
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O that's lovely, I'm even
O that's lovely, I'm even more glad now ^^ Kxx
"I will make sense with a few reads \^^/ "
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