Lips Sealed

Sometimes we are haunted by the past.

Shadows suffocate me,

stuff their putrid echoes

into my face

as memories flood

my veins with morbid

recollections.

The broken bible

hangs by its hinges,

words dripping out

like caustic soda

sins.

A priest awaits me

as I hide

in the vestry

drinking

the dark red wine

of Christ's blood.

I recall my lips,

sealed to the neck

of that bottle.

That guilt

wraps itself

around me

like Clingfilm,

hugging the contours

of every breath

that I take.

The musculature

of that Pygmalion

python pins me fast,

so that I may never

be free again.

 

02/05/19

Author's Note

Reviews

[Aurora]

Seems like satanic verses at a confessional.

[John Alexander McFadyen]

I guess that sums it up in a pithy way. Many thanks.

[Aurora]

Welcome John.

[Cherrie]

I like it. Your poem has mood and balance, with a renaissance flair. To me it felt fresh and not an attempt to mimic.

[Wayfaring stranger]

Very haunting piece. Vivid dark imagination -nocturno dream of Lovecraft. You create something pulsinng fantastic but also real. Demonic memories can create also this great writing. I hope your memories are not too much -alive.

[John Alexander McFadyen]

Thank you Thomas, I guess Catholic guilt is hard to shake off.

[Lyn Anderson]

You can take the boy out of the church, but … yes, the stains and sins and bruises remain.
One question, I am perplexed by the Pygmalion, both its placement, and its small font.

[John Alexander McFadyen]

Not sure about that font! Pygmalion fell in love with a stone statue so being tied to such concrete love can weigh a person down. Thanks for popping by Lyn.

[John Alexander McFadyen]

PS I also liked the alliteration!

[jacob erin-cilberto]

and he really wants me to confess and unload the burden...but in order to do that...i think i need more wine...and maybe another day.
powerful write mixing the religious aspects with idea of overwhelming guilt.
j.

[John Alexander McFadyen]

Thank you Jacob. Catholic bruises and Catholic stains as always.