Mom

though not religious

i found in Dante’s hell a

truth about her 

that helps

to free me

from her spell

 

in the Fifth Circle lie

entombed

the wrathful and sullen

who in life refused to

welcome the sweet light

of the sun

and in death are buried

forever in the stinking

waters and mud

and

i imagine her there

 

in the Ninth Circle

fixed in ice are the

deniers of human warmth

and the treacherous who

are permitted

to bow their heads so

their tears fall

without freezing

their eyes shut

 

and now I do indeed see

but do not understand

why

some human creatures

such as her were never

fully born

never evolved

but instead

lived and died

damaged

Reviews

[DIVYA]

Darkness is such a real thing especially when it pervades a soul. I wonder how it must have felt to grow up with a mother with such a disturbing disposition. Mothers are about warmth, love and light. So, I wonder what damages a psyche so irreparably. You have thought deeply about her and placed her in those rings of Dante’s. I sense a lot of bitterness and sadness in your words. A powerful impact delivered....

[SkinlessFrank]

Yes, there is bitterness and darkness as you absorb so perceptively. But there is also purging in writing about it. Thanks for your soothing words.

[DIVYA]

It was a great read. You're most welcome.

[. serah .]

~ what an intensely powerful and insightful piece of writing, maestro d. ... the journey in each line leading up to that profound closing is revealing beyond measure... and yet what i found startling was the expression "never fully born"... ~ it's such a precise diagnosis... ~ such people are so inadequate and yet the word "inadequate" isn't even a millionth as powerful as "never fully born"... they somehow remain under-human throughout... ~ this piece freed me too... thank you for that...

[SkinlessFrank]

sometimes i imagine all her facial features collapsed down on one another, or more accurately, never fully emerged, and even now i see her like that in immersed in some kind of red or brown liquid, struggling to get her head above it and take a breath, then falling back....strange enough, eh?

[. serah .]

~ uhm... strangely brilliant, i'd say... ~ from where i'm lookin', you're in the same league as stanley kubrick or roald dahl or edward lear... or even alfred hitchcock or francis bacon... ~ there's precision in your imagination and hence the visuals do justice to the subject...