Home

Fire on the Ferry

by Max Bouillet

“We be all dead men.”
Exodus 12:33

(my soul keeps trying
to escape from my lungs.
It climbs each breath
clutching each exhale)

pretty clouds above the gallows...

the leaves are
turning in a deadmanÂ’s glance
waltzing the Styx
flicking smokes at Charon
til the damn ferry catches fire
and together we swim
and forget
and are forgotten
and for
once
no pain.

(basked in moonglow,
I wake in desperation
and turn to you,
“Tell me who I am.”
define me
give me a comfortable persona
to slip into)

but your silence screams at me
--angry brushstrokes
painting blood
on a canvas of flesh
and too soon
death sobers
and the scythe
no longer props open the
door to Hades

and you are

gone


10/21/2004

Author's Note: Peace sweet pieces. Drown me and forget.

Posted on 10/22/2004
Copyright © 2024 Max Bouillet

Member Comments on this Poem
Posted by Ginette T Belle on 10/22/04 at 08:28 PM

vibrant, bright images come from this poem into my head..."my soul keeps trying to escape from my lungs"..that is an amazing first line to a poem..grabs you in right off the top...great phrases like "the leaves are turning in a deadman’s glance" make this poem unique and absolutely beautiful...

Posted by Philip F De Pinto on 10/23/04 at 11:21 AM

Yes, oft we go to dreamland to ask real questions of ourselves in hopes to come to conclusions of ourselves only to wake and find that self will not be defined either in wakefullness or in dreams. Wonderous work, Max.

Posted by Graeme Fielden on 10/23/04 at 01:32 PM

gobsmackingly real...I'm some how lost for words other than...Wow!

Posted by David R Spellman on 10/23/04 at 01:44 PM

I have to agree that that first stanza really grabs at you - an excellent description indeed. Other phrasings here too that are very good. In all an outstanding piece!

Posted by Scott Cadence on 10/23/04 at 09:05 PM

Thats what I'm talking about! So many great lines here. Sometimes I swear your in my head. :)

Posted by Maryellen Lebeda-Parra on 10/24/04 at 02:36 AM

i want to comment, but i do not even know what to say ... sorry for my spontaneous lack of creativity

Posted by Kimberly Bare on 10/24/04 at 02:59 AM

Surreality at it's best while carrying such an understated truth to reality! Wonderfully Done! Blessings...

Posted by Glenn Currier on 11/08/04 at 02:39 AM

Clara's comments were an education for me... helping me to see deeper into your poem just deep enough to catch you before you drowned in the darkness of the dream. Well done, my friend.

Posted by Gabrielle L Gervais on 11/16/04 at 12:42 PM

this is an incredibly refreshing read, impeccable word choice and flow... really, wonderful

Return to the Previous Page
 

pathetic.org Version 7.3.2 May 2004 Terms and Conditions of Use 0 member(s) and 2 visitor(s) online
All works Copyright © 2024 their respective authors. Page Generated In 0 Second(s)