It was a face which darkness could kill
in an instant
a face as easily hurt
by laughter or light
Lawrence Ferlighetti
His was a face
carved from wood stone
bevelled with the light of
other days
composed to hide
the thoughts which twisted
his heart into a knot of serpents
but his eyes
shone with the light
between oceans
“I am the devil,”
he told me
a long time ago
“I am a witch,” I said
“No mask can hide
from either of us
all the light we cannot see”
Day 13 ~ LIGHT
Magaly is our host in The Imaginary Garden, asking us to create One Poem: Three Titles.
I have marked the book titles in italics.
The Light Between Oceans ~ M.L. Stedman
All the Light We Cannot See ~ Anthony Doerr
The Light of Other Days ~ Arthur C. Clarke
Title: While the Light Lasts ~ Agatha Christie
There are too many coincidences this April 13th, Kerry! We both chose All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr and wrote about light. I admire the shape and spacing of your poem very much, carved like the face – I love ‘bevelled with the light of other days’ and the eyes that ‘shone with the light between oceans’.
ReplyDeleteMy word of the day is 'light' so I was intrigued to see that you used it too... there is poetic magic afoot!
DeleteWhoooosh!💞 This is deliciously worded, Kerry 😊 I am bowled over by the closing lines! Perfect rhythm and flow in the corporation of titles too! 😍😍
ReplyDeleteThanks, Sanaa.
DeleteThey do seem equally matched, but in my experience if a guy starts off advertising himself as a devil, any relationship with him is going to be a lot of work - work that might not be worth it.
ReplyDeleteHa! That is almost certainly true.. unless the witch is willing.
DeleteI like how all your uses of "light" show a different face of the word. I like the structure of the poem. And I really love the ambiguity you've fed into the description of the speaker and subject and of their relationship.
ReplyDeleteThere is so much symbolism in the first two stanzas, that I can't quite tell if the thoughts twisting his heart are of something terrible he did or of horrors he lived and can't forget.
And the dialogue just leaves me even more intrigued--is "I am the devil" a warning he uses to tell her he is bad news and she should probably run for the hills? Is "I am a witch" her way of letting him know that she is her own woman and prefers to gather her own evidence?
I love the titles, too.
I like the idea that there is a story behind this scene. I like the way you have interpreted the relationship. Sometimes people see only the worst side of themselves, but the one who loves unconditionally sees only the best.
DeleteJust wonderful; I love it so much.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you approve, Rosemary. I wouldn't want to offend any witches.
Delete;-)
This is so powerful Kerry, with layers of hidden meaning. Wonderful!
ReplyDeleteIt feels like a power play. I'll trump your devil with my witch. Love the dark tones of this piece.
ReplyDeleteI prefer to see it as a pact between equals myself.
DeleteI like the darkness in this. The different uses of light in this is excellent and adds to the layers in this. Lovely writing in this and dark.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Toni.
Delete... awesome. And I think they deserve each other.
ReplyDeleteWe should always get what we deserve.
Deletethe last couplet ... ~
ReplyDelete