That Year

Red knees seemed in fashion
With red eyes to match
Don’t look for a bloom among the thorns
She has curled her petals tightly in confusion
Because there was no wild rumpus for the boy in the wolf suit
And the dragonfly felt his wings pulled out
His childhood in a shriveled corpse
That screamed pain out its eyes
I wrapped all I could in my best silks
Let jokes ease a fraction of the many blows
But when the night came
And nothing but ash
Was where a paw print should be
I’d look at the stars
And gush scarlet tears
That my eyes could not in the light of day

Song choice: Everybody Hurts by REM


This poem was created from a prompt offered by Magaly Guerrero for NaPoWriMo (Day 4: Feeling So Deeply It Hurts)


22 comments:

  1. You've made me cry... at 7:28 am. Your power for imagery is dangerous, my Rommy. So very real... and reaching.

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    1. I made myself cry a bit while writing it, so I guess it's only fair.

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  2. Nicely done. Also, good song choice.

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    1. Yeah, sometimes I dither back and forth between song choices, but I pretty much knew this was what I was going with as soon as I finished typing.

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  3. Yep...me too....made me miss my passed puppies :) XXX

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    1. I still miss my Faye insanely. Fortunately Kit, my new-ish corgi is a fabulous snuggler, even if he is a bossy pants.

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  4. I knew, instantly. (((((Rommy)))

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  5. The pain that never really goes away, it just hides at times only to jump out at you in the strangest of times. It has been over 2 1/2 years and still my eyes tear up and my heart seizes in my chest. I don't mention it because, as they say, it was only a cat...

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    1. It's funny how things stay raw even after years have gone by.

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  6. Growing up is one of the most painful things we will ever do--I think adults have buried it so deep they forget what it's like to face the very real terrors and griefs of the world with only the defenses of a child--you evoke it all so vividly here, or so I am reading, that this loss of a beloved pet happened when you were a child--still that kind of loss is always as keen as any childhood hurt, no matter what age you are.

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    1. There is a lot about growing up that isn't painted in Norman Rockwell-esque hues and losing a pet you love absolutely qualifies as one of those things.

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  7. Replies
    1. Thank you. It was a difficult time to rexplore

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  8. Replies
    1. Thank you. It wasn't the easiest assignment to get through, but I feel pretty good about getting through NaPoWriMo after this.

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  9. "But when the night came
    and nothing but ash
    was where a paw print should be"

    This was enough to start me blubbing. Our animals become friends become family, their lost is as real as any other but often unrecognized by outsiders.

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    1. It's really hard to explain to others unless you've gone through it yourself

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  10. An unhappiness most people know and most people can instantly relate to. Really wonderful stuff, Rommy

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  11. The night time is a good time for tears. Your loss is palpable. This was so well done.

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    1. Thanks. This was very personal and difficult to write, but I'm glad I did.

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