This Distillation

I did not ask
for this distillation,

but that is what grief does,
inside me at least,

condensing,
sharpening,

things cast off
or at least buried.

Some things taste brighter
in the concentrating,
while others allow their bitter
undertones to take over.

The only thing I’m sure of
is this distillation

could be medicine or poison,
depending on
when and how I drink it.




Liner Notes for this Groove: This poem was created for the Friday Writings Prompt at Poets and Storytellers United, Scary Bits. I was inspired by the phrase, “There is something at work in my soul, which I do not understand.” from Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley.

18 comments:

  1. (Surely this could only have been written by one steeped (sic) in the Japanese tea-making tradition!) The poem is in itself a wonderful distillation, and the image is beyond fortuitous.

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  2. Can grief be distilled, and how bitter will it be? I like how you asked these questions in the poem. :)

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  3. I picture the slow drip, drip, drip of distillation. And all those curvy, intricate distillation lines. An elaborate process.

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    1. I really liked that mental image too. Magaly picked some really good sentences. It was hard to decide what to work with!

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  4. Fluidity came to mind and the filtering processes within that can take the edge off both the sweet and the bitter.

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  5. Agree... grief distills into poison or medicine... but it is there always running in your veins.. at work in your soul!!!! Totally on point!

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    1. The perspective grief gives you never goes away, you're right. And it's always wild to me how in some instances that translates to more grace and in others more rage.

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  6. There's a spirit working here, beware.
    ..

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  7. Perspective is everything, isn't it? There is so much joy in wonderful memories condensed into a single moment we can relish in over and over. But the other side of that coin can shatter a heart over and over and... again.

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    1. And it's so crazy how perspective feels like it can change from moment to moment too!

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  8. This is such a beautiful wise poem. I love this stanza:

    "Some things taste brighter
    in the concentrating,
    while others allow their bitter
    undertones to take over."

    But the whole thing is excellent and thought-provoking :-)

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    1. Thanks, Sunra. I'm always happy when my pieces can inspire a thought or two.

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  9. medicine or poison - it all depends. Great poem, Rommy!

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