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Surface Tension (Emotional Striations) In/her(e)/ent
by Therese ElaineThis is not a point of departure
this is a point of origin...
I mark the spot on
my intercontinental map
where I found your fingers digging furrows
under scars, turning these salted fields
over;
this kind of delicacy is only possible
with long-distance
surgery
And where you are embedding yourself
is not so much uncharted
as uninhabited;
the phantom residue
of fallow love affairs
is now nothing more than the defragmentation
of former emotional pigmentations,
under the weight of your visceral benediction;
this is proof
that nothing truly dies-
it's all reconstituted until such time
as it is necessary again
redistributed with the fervor of
sheer
dumb
luck.
I pray for rain and
you suck my tongue
my skin shifts with the fecundity
implied in your proprietary thrusts;
I no longer bleed from
old wounds
they have nothing I want anymore
And my surface geography has altered
as you pull your fingers from
the depths of me
(You are the center)
(I am the surrounding)
Any traces of prior claims
have healed
and as you stand at the southernmost part
of my territory
there is no break in the horizon.
You have healed me...
not what was broken but
what was forgotten
not what was missing but
what was exiled
not who I was but
the potential of me;
it always seemed that
it was a matter of choice
you made it a matter of
necessity. 02/12/2010 Posted on 02/12/2010
Copyright © 2025 Therese Elaine
| Member Comments on this Poem |
| Posted by Richard Paez on 02/12/10 at 07:40 PM “Scars are proof that the wounds have healed. You have healed me. What was missing was not me; it was you.” My love, there are so many ways to read this (as text) that a small comment is hardly appropriate, but the message is clear – as much as I echo what you say, as much as the same thoughts are on my lips, I could never have said this the way you have here. What is both disarming and disturbing about this piece is the density and variety of images and metaphors that all focus on the concept of topology-as-text/membrane – whether geographic (implying [temporary] distance) or dermal (implying [immediate] contact), the image of maps (a form of text) or of surgery (a form of writing/editing) which feed back into the construct of topology, scars and pigmentation and territory (all inscriptions circling the idea of surface as point-of-contact), the sheer textuality of this text, the not uncertain hints of my own textuality expressed through your distinct and undeniable voice, and the overwhelming (to me, at least) content of the message, embodying so much that we have shared and understood... there is no doubt that I am biased, but all the bias in the world doesn't change the fact that I am as impressed as I am moved, as respectful of your craft as I am your contact. Thank you for sharing – through this poem and in every other way... |
| Posted by Jared Fladeland on 02/12/10 at 07:54 PM this is wonderful. my favorite part is the bit about the wounds not bleeding anymore because you don't need them anymore. This is good stuff. |
| Posted by Joe Cramer on 02/12/10 at 08:07 PM ... a brilliant write..... |
| Posted by V. Blake on 02/12/10 at 08:38 PM Since any comment I leave will just seem frivolous after Richard's, I am just gonna tell you that this is fantastic poetry and give you highest marks for it. :) |
| Posted by Joan Serratelli on 02/12/10 at 08:38 PM This is incredible. I loved your word play- outstanding! |
| Posted by Nicole D Gregory on 02/12/10 at 08:52 PM *gasp* How many pieces are within this one writing?... I am floored at the gravity and pinned by the depth of your expressions. Just in awe of what goes on around you, how you process it, and serve it to us so beautifully. Then, to read Richard's comment that follows... I feel like I've been let in to a most intimate part of your hearts, not just as a reader, but as a confidant... and for that, I thank you. ~N |
| Posted by Richard Paez on 02/12/10 at 08:59 PM *not ashamed to admit that Nicole's comment left me in tears* |
| Posted by Nicole D Gregory on 02/12/10 at 09:17 PM *tearing up* To Therese: Richard, your Richard, is... I have no words... I am just so moved by what you wrote and his reply that... *sigh* It's what life should be. Those of us with souls, conviction, and the ability to process our existance into a written form... You two are a testament to love. *hug* Thank you! ~N |
| Posted by Sarah Wolf on 02/15/10 at 04:43 PM "I no longer bleed from
old wounds
they have nothing I want anymore"
These lines... are my favorite... and truly beautiful. I feel the energy of the heeling of self flowing though you in this work... Therese you already know I am such a fan... Very nice.
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| Posted by Tom Goss on 07/27/10 at 03:52 AM Awesome creative thrusts, my dear. |
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