A Lesson in Life by Karen MichelleYour exhalation
is a crease in my skin:
there, where it should be,
by force of nature.
I wake
again and again
like clockwork,
to your open arms;
My empty thoughts
combatted by your
restless idealism
and acceptance
of morning renewal.
Your inhalation
is an oratorio in my head:
climbing, soaring,
a pitch perfect arpeggio.
And I dream of such perfection
to seal these cracks
that expand and contract
with the lunar cycle,
but never repair.
But you teach me daily,
not in so many words,
that I set my sights
on oases and apparitions.
You whisper to me nightly
that there is more
to be found between
daybreak and sundown,
between the expansion
and constriction of a blood vessel
buried deep in my chest cavity;
the macro and the microcosm.
And I would believe you
were it not for the fact
that all my silent observations
have only led me here.
To this realisation:
That I was an open wound long before I knew what it meant to bleed. 03/28/2007 Posted on 03/27/2007 Copyright © 2025 Karen Michelle
Member Comments on this Poem |
Posted by Quentin S Clingerman on 06/28/07 at 01:24 PM I agree that this has a stream of consciousness feel with a little more orderliness I think. Really ends in great poignancy. |
Posted by Aaron Michael on 08/09/07 at 10:08 PM that was a grand conclusion to a pretty piece. you have a nice choice of wording, it made the work flow just beautifully. |
Posted by Kristina Woodhill on 07/06/08 at 04:40 PM A fine POTD. There are some very interesting inner ideas that flow through this. I like its strong beginning and the end line takes me in a couple of directions. |
Posted by Dave Fitzgerald on 07/06/08 at 06:22 PM Congratulations on you great POTD |
Posted by Chris Sorrenti on 06/16/17 at 05:21 AM Evocative slice of introspection! |
Posted by LK Barrett on 06/21/17 at 05:48 PM Congratulations on POTD. It does seem that "you" in this piece is not very observant, or that the self speaking in the poem is not articulating the past in a way the "you" can parse it. A particularly knotty not, indeed. Thank you for the write. LK |
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