For two decades
your salt-paste lies piled up
like pancakes on a cracked plate,
while you hammered at my heart,
delighting in the blood
which seeped
scarlet
through my frayed sleeve.
Even if you’d believed
I would leave,
you would not
have been kinder to me.
I scribed you into history
long before
you ceased breathing.
Each shred of regret morphed into relief,
so there’s nothing to grieve –
leaving only a thin breeze of pity.
.
©Jane Paterson Basil
a thin breeze of pity… I got this whole poem. How long has it been now and you’re still dealing with it? It must still really be on your mind.
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He died in January sometime. I don’t think about him, but the daily prompt; “Sleeve” reminded me of how, when we first met, I wore my heart on my sleeve, making it easy for him to hurt me.
I’ll dredge anything up for the sake of a poem 🙂
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LOL In that case, well done!
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Huh – the past couple of days he’s been on my mind some. Maybe I’ll try to write a poem about the reason…
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A touch of whispering wind….
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I almost used that phrase, but it sounded too much like a silent fart 😉
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i hope that it’s a sticky one!
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Right women don’t fart!
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Or if we do, we blame the dog
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What?
Hell, why give the dog 🐶 all the credit…
💕💕
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Haha 🙂
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hA hA, you darling!
❤️❤️💋❤️❤️
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It ends like a full stop to a long and sordid saga.
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It feels odd that I so easily closed the book on him after we spent so many years together. There was so much damage…
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It’s an ending that had come to its own natural conclusion with his posting
You’ve done the work, and it’s time to move on
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That’s what my daughter said to me this evening when I was ranting. Something has happened over the past couple of days which has brought it all back. Maybe I should try to clear it with a poem…
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Sounds like you’ve uncovered another layer of healing….
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This onion has got way too big 🙂
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Hope the layers shed quickly then 🙂
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So do I 😉
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Beautifully written and amazing word choice…. Scribed you into history, a thin breeze of pity…. Killed it!
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Thank you. The last stanza was tricky – I didn’t want to sound harsh. Folks get offended when you shrug your shoulders at death, but sometimes there’s nothing left to feel.
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Reblogged this on Reena Saxena.
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You are an amazing human being, and an outstanding poet, Jane!
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Thank you, Reena – and thanks for reblogging my poem.
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So true
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A great poem Jane, I felt every word, and now their drifting on the breeze, and may the winds of time be kind to you. 😊
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Thank you Ivor. It feels as if things are looking up. 🙂
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Good for you 😆
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xxx
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Powerful!
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Thank you!
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