Strawberries~

~does my eye for your eye make the whole world sigh?~

"Strawberries." he said

 

"I want strawberries."

 

I uncurled my fingers from my palm

 

a boy hiding in a berry patch against the reflection of the glass

 

and I saw past the monster with the stained lips

 

into a heart beating against a future etched in unspeakable violence

 

and I leaned my head into my palms

 

as they pushed the fluids into the tubes

 

I didn't watch his blue eyes watching us as they turned the color of onyx

 

the taste of strawberries on my tongue

 

death in the back of my throat;

 

justice tasted bitter

 

unripened

 

nothing rebakes girl bread once it has been broken

 

nothing brings back the dead  

 

not even the death of a another

 

 

 

copyright:2010vssmd/pa.inc

All Rights Reserved

 

 

 

excerpt from

 

 

 

Author's Note

~an eye for an eye turns the human mind out~ inside~
And yet . . . . when the atrocity bleeds impossible to cauterize. . . .do we watch with morbid glee as the fluids are pumped into the monster’s veins behind a glass partition in an act of equalized justice. . . .this is where morality and ethics become tricky . . . .

Reviews

[Bard Constantine]

A poignant look at punishment by death... ever more so by your twist of a word often used in a far more cheerful manner... strawberries. Hard to think of the fruit the same again... but I will because they're delicious... ;)

But this write... truly gripping from start to finish... the meaning of justice placed on a set of bloody scales, wavering back and forth...

[lavina k.]

I must say you are a writer with a very deep and intuitive thinking.
I must salute you!!!
For your great work and your fantastic pieces.
Thank you for sharing!!!!

[David W Moore III]

I had to read this one three times. Not because I couldn't understand it, but because I wanted to go deeper. That is the hallmark of your writing, Selene, Layers inside layers. When I lay down at night and am still thinking about the read from 7:00, that speaks to the power of your words. The contrast of the strawberry taste to death is remarkable and unforgettable. It cements that image in our minds. Fantastic.

[Ru Banerjee]

Just WOW! The metaphor of dying and the taste of tart strawberries in the mouth brings home to the readers the contempt of unspeakable violence and terrible atrocities that today's civilization has subjected mankind to. The most stirring lines:
"the taste of strawberries on my tongue
death in the back of my throat;
justice tasted bitter/unripened
nothing rebakes girl bread once it has been broken
nothing brings back the dead
not even the death of a another"

It tells you about the utter futility of redeeming innumerable human lives that lay lost amidst this blood and gore, about the sins galore and gruesome deeds of mankind that end up in ultimate devastation that cannot be controlled, or restored. We have to continue hoping that some day these monsters' veins will be destroyed and the evil lurking beneath the cold surface of humanity will be rendered powerless to cause the suffering and endless doom that is so much a part of this life today.

[Brad]

the taste of strawberries on my tongue
death in the back of my throat;
justice tasted bitter
unripened

why didn't i see this one before now? gad i'm getting senile...loved the whole shenanigans...but these lines be my fave

[Michael of Gilead]

Very well done Selene, although I disagree, I find this to be excellent and very well written.

[alan peter kelly]

we as a community are partly responsible for the citizens we create...i have known quite a number of murderers...bonded by circumstance...seen the entirety of each story...asked each the question why...and overall i have discovered that only few are beyond salvation...only few have no conscience eating at them each day for their ultimate deviance....nothing makes it right...but we are, for the most part, not born monsters...we grow into the role through accumulated dereliction of duty...first by significant others...second by our exposure to the world at large and last...we become all that we have learned...

[HeartsxDesire]

i enjoyed this reading alot

the unripened taste of justice. justifies the word itself. Brilliant selene!

[FireWoman]

So true, when we are filled with hateful vengeance our mind is clouded... after the fall out we are no better than they if blood is what we crave. I have to believe that everything will balance out in the end, scales righting themselves. (Says the hopeful Libra) =)