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-unto death due us part- (containers)
by Nicole Hydethrew away any oblivious expectation
of walking down the aisle
knowing all too well that this sideshowfreakshow,
this charade, this death trap,
this circus act will never end
until one of us walks;
walks away with bags packed, artillery strapped and a box of band-aids.
flashback for a moment, darling
lover,
ally,
enemy-kept-closer,
and see us as we used to be
we were (superimposed)
my spine next to your heart
your left hand around my neck
your right on my stomach
my teeth sunk in my lip
our eyes to the lights
wanting to drop down
put our hands to the floor
and
crawl
away.
memories.
unlike any photo-fucking-album
these remembered jewels are lined in broken
blood vessels, shielded by angry promises,
shrink-wrapped in bitter tastes,
and left in this empty bed when you were gone,
out with friends,
none of that glossy plastic happy shit,
no kodak moments of a mellow yuppie couple.
that smile was always a fucking (inside) joke.
i was your fucking joke.
yet behind each satirical grin i vaguely remember
how there was always room enough for two
in every shadow you left behind,
and how it felt so rightfully wrong to engrave myself
all over your epidermis, deep in your thighs,
and all along your insides.
my hand-cuffing your limbs
your heart corrupting my lungs
my teeth at your jugular as i ask
patiently,
when do we let go,
when we can't stand or breathe or feel?
answer me.
when they pull us out of this embrace
with broken bones, damaged souls,
and torn flesh
will you still be able
to say that you **** me
ANSWER
ME.
always feels as though i'm talking to myself.
half and half,
picasso with vertigo
your up until i'm down
and you is me, you are me,
your me is me, fifty-fifty.
remember?
with teeth clenched, body armored, i ask
when do we walk?
when do you take flight like a vulture,
like a dove, like a storm system off the coast,
when?
when...
can i lie down and breathe with my soul again,
any day now...
when
we are ashes
and our dust is in the dawn,
only then do we begin to end again.
08/07/2005 Author's Note: yes... coco and frankie tried again
Posted on 08/08/2005
Copyright © 2010 Nicole Hyde
| Member Comments on this Poem |
| Posted by Tracey Paradiso on 08/08/05 at 12:40 AM I felt sucked into the couple in a can't-stand-the rage-and-bitterness but can't-let-go-lockdown. Funny, I started feeling like, Oh my God when will this end (in a good way, because I certainly wasn't going anywhere 'til I read the ending) just before the lines "when do we let go,/when we can't stand or breathe or feel?" Soooooo many great lines, too many to list. "Picasso with vertigo," I've felt that way in a crazy relationship. Applause from NJ! |
| Posted by Jon Kary on 08/08/05 at 10:58 AM What I found to be most impressive about this piece is the clarity and perfection of its voice. There are no places within it, not even the smallest, where the rhythm falters even the slightest. It is completely natural and the eye and mind of the reader rolls and flows upon it in the absolute absence of friction. |
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