classified secrets
for sale to highest bidder
cash only no checks
betrayal
subtraction…
sounds
deep sighs
words
of
regret and apology
go
unheard
too much
noise
from memories
being replayed
and
no way to
rewind and erase
old neuro-patterns
of love betrayed
so now
only silence
fills a room
soon to be
minus one
it’s just a little delayed irony…
copyright cwmartin 2012
you bought
a membership
and
expected
full
rights and privileges
but
that’s not
how it works
you’re
from
a lower caste
so
when the ship
of state
starts to run
into stormy seas
you’ll be
the first
tossed overboard
to save
your
new-found
friends
like those
you
threw away
to pay
your
dues
they know not…
digital decoupage cwmartin 2012
eyes
emptied
of hope
stare
into a mirror
surveying
an ancestry
of pain
charted
on
a once
pristine canvas
that held
only
colors
of hope
and
joy
now
those rainbows
hold
no colors
all
that remains
is
a spear
holding
a sponge
of
vinegary
death
between our dawns…
write your name
on the shadows
in the corner
blow gentle thoughts
into the night breeze
so that i might
feel you touch
the air in-between
our dawns
of time
i might
smell
your breath
in gentle rains
when passing
through the forest
or feel your flesh
next to mine
when i lie
upon the earth
or let us take the risk
and wander
the garden
in-between
meeting
one last time
halfway
on the bridge
of yesterday’s promises
and
today’s lies
so that we might forget
the bitter taste
of betrayal
from broken rules
and family’s of honor
may love prevail.
River Urke and I have once again entered into a duel poetry challenge and this is the resulting poem. Duel Poetry: a prearranged poetry writing challenge between two people to evolve a new poem where each writer must respond to the other writer’s lines (4 -5 ) until both parties agree that the poem is complete
perspective of a portrait…
A Classic Art Challenge: Here we are at the second round of another poetry challenge between my good friend Jade and myself. This time, the writing will be prompted by five paintings, ranging from classical to modernist. We hope you will enjoy this as much as we do!
Today’s painting is: Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I by Gustav Klimt completed in 1907
- Portrait of Adele Bloch Bauer by Gustave Klimt
over the years
i have seen
so many faces
staring into my eyes
and have felt
so many envious hands
touching me
i have seen those i’ve loved
carried off to gas chambers
while i was taken prisoner
uncertain of my future
i wandered around
travelling even to america
i asked to go home
even writing it down
but no one would listen
as if my voice
could not be heard
from my grave
i stare out now
at a whole new world
i am now a slave
an object to be ogled
by every passing person
envied for my constant beauty
but no one can see
the sadness i have inside
nor do they care
i think some times
that the oldest profession
is not prostitution
but betrayal
recall what happened
in the garden of eden
the music box…
the music box
has a secret
it will whisper
it to you
in its tune
somewhere in this room
was the beginning of a grave
a small shallow home
in the earth
a place of rest
for a small child
the music box
spends its days alone
no one to play with
no one to abuse it
a jury of her peers
said she alone
was guilty
but the betrayals
of a teenage mother
no money
no lover
no family
no time
no sleep
she
a l o n e
This poem represents my third response to the third challenge series between Jade and I. This challenge is somewhat different in that the prompt is now an audio prompt. Each poet provides the other with five instrumental songs (so that the song’s words do not interefere with the poet’s) from which the poet is to write a poem. Jade has written her first response which can be found here.
on the edge…
Challenge Photo II from Jade
the gray morning
air presses hard
against me
holding back
the sounds
of my footsteps
that were so clear
and distinct
as i began
this journey
but now
all i can hear
are my labored breaths
in and out
and
my throbbing heart
a heart seeking
to escape
these city walls
to leave behind
this street
where laughter
and joy
have fled
where only
your memory resides
shrouded in betrayal
wearing a cross
of lies
to conceal
the truth
of who
and what
you are
and what
you’ve done
This poem represents my second response to the second challenge series between Jade and I. As you may recall, each poet provides the other with a series of photos, visual prompts, from which the poet is to write a poem. Jade has written her response which can be found here.
cactus garden…
Image by CWMartin
Read Between the Minds 