through these eyes

Coiled around the ebony of her own reflection

Muted joy corrupted in pale comparison

Midnight brought little comfort to fallow days

Amidst juniper rays and pampered thoughts

She wallowed

Her smile wiped with a back handed bruise

Given with such voracity her heart beat faltered

She wept tears intended for reasons beyond all comprehension

Caught in a web of surreal reality

Where concave wishes breed more misery than joy

And her mettle was crushed with every elusive memory

Her skin now ablaze with a spectrum of muted autumn hues

As if winter was to be a blessing

The bleak landscape a welcome departure from the malaise

That was all she could see through the eyes of her tormentor

The reflection was of another life, one she dreamed of in a corner

Of her consciousness, folded neatly into the pocket of her heart

So secret that even she didn’t realise it was there

But sometimes when the silence was overwhelming she could faintly

Hear it whispering its message of hope

And the smile that was wiped was visible once again but inside her eyes

Where no one, not even him could steal it.

Reviews

[Rikkevi Rue]

One very famous poetry critic professes that poetry registers (communicates) on 4 different levels simultaneously if it is truly great: the immediately apparent story it tells, the analogous level of innuendo and nuance, the symbolic level (whatever the heck that is!) and the personalized level (in other words subjective to that particular reader).

Clearly your poetry works on multiple levels simultaneously. I feel your great strength is the voracity (great word!) with which your work conveys emotion. Always a palpable quantitative element the tendency to "strike a chord" is uniformly consistent. Most evoke strong emotion from the reader as evidenced by responses and personal experience. There are all kinds of ways one could critique your work but the ability to communicate something REAL to another is way up there, and this piece exhibits mastery of that skill.

[Prolific In Verse]

This read to me like a air-brushed chapter of gothic poetry, a neat vibe and very evocative of prose.

[Robin]

so many stories filtered through these eyes ..

[Muse]

And the smile that was wiped was visible once again but inside her eyes
Where no one, not even him could steal it.

A perfect way to end an emotional packed write! I wanted to say how sad I felt reading this..but the ending....it had hope. There always that small part of you...me...everybody. A part that is sacred. Nobody can take this away..they have no God given right.

[Pax Analog]

Classic coding of soul survival, passion for personal integrity smuggled past the potential censoring of incomplete relatedness. Historically a woman's issue; perpetually a poet's issue. Strong affirmation, roses 'midst thorns.

[Poetic Justice]

thank you :) seems to be recurring theme! LOL

[Empirik]

I love the privacy of this write! It is tremendously deep. Dark inside a tunnel where one is finally beginning to see the light within. I hope all is going well for you. I have been running around and not as active as I once was, but pleased to see your FB post of this write. Great job! :)

[Poetic Justice]

thanks alot for your comments - haven't been writing alot lately ..this is my first piece in months..

[John Jackson (El Juero)]

This piece screamed survival.
Outstandingly told story.

[Poetic Justice]

thanks John..hope all is well with you xx

[The Rock And Roll Cowbo..]

The one thing no one can steal from you is self-confidence, only can you hand someone else the power to control it...

Lovely poem, so inspiring.

[Poetic Justice]

amen to that review..

[The Rock And Roll Cowboy(REBEL WITH A CAUSE)]

:)

[Lily Mae]

"The reflection was of another life, one she dreamed of in a corner
Of her consciousness, folded neatly into the pocket of her heart
So secret that even she didn’t realise it was there"

I just love this.. It brought to mind so many people and events in my world.. thank you for sharing..xo

[Poetic Justice]

thank you for your comments..glad it meant something to you xx

[Sahm King (Ark)]

:") PJ, this is beautiful. I think you know that already. Sorry for the lack of constructive review, but I fail to see why you would need one. LOVELY work!

Hope you don't mind if I share this a few places :)

[Poetic Justice]

thank you :)..share away!