In the April of Covid 19
Day 9
“I turn the corner of prayer and burn in a blessing of the sudden sun.”Dylan Thomas
Prayer
I utter no prayer to the blackout
god nor the mask faced gargoyle
grinning at my pale mounds as I
bathe in dew of dawn cold graves.
I enable my own metamorphosis,
my passover, amid primrose and
headstones, burning your name
on my skin, making love to your
shadow self, before the envious
first light lays claim to your soul.
Skylover Wordlist: Prayer
Play It Again Toads: Words Count with Mama Zen
"I enable my own metamorphosis, my passover, amid primrose and headstones, burning your name on my skin,".. this is especially poignant, Kerry! What I love most about this poem is that it can be interpreted in several ways. I am reminded of Torah, and the leadership of Moses.💝💝
ReplyDeleteHow interesting to hear your response, Sanaa, since the poem is intended to be quite irreligious, or perhaps more pagan in its ritual for the dead.
DeleteI realize that now upon a second reading on Instagram! Indeed, it is interesting where the mind went the first time around 😘
DeleteI think any reading has merit, Sanaa. It all depends on the reader's experiences.
DeleteAh, we should all be enabling our own metamorphoses, I think. Or do we, in fact?
ReplyDeletePerhaps, like the caterpillar, we really do not have any option.
DeleteThis is quite a statement of independence - metamorphosis. Perhaps the title is an oxymoron?
ReplyDeleteInteresting....I chose Metamorphosis as a title....had not read your post. Never read others until I post mine.
It is definitely not a prayer in the usual sense, or maybe all means of convening with Spirit are prayers.
DeleteI titled mine Metamoorphosis, too.......how we have changed the world. We need to change it back! Love your poem, Kerry, especially struck by the dawn cold graves, as graves factored in the other poem I wrote this morning. Stay safe!
ReplyDeleteMetamorphosis is an apt word in these times, Sherry.
DeleteGoodness, I already highlighted a line on Instagram, but I sure love "I utter no prayer to the blackout god" also
ReplyDeleteMany thanks, for responding on both platforms, Susie.
DeleteI like the juxtaposition of the title ‘Prayer’ and the opening line ‘I utter no prayer’, a seeming contradiction, which forms the basis of the poem, Kerry. I love the dark images of ‘mask faced gargoyle’ and ‘dawn cold graves’, and the flash of light in the primrose. Your poem made me shiver.
ReplyDeleteAh! Good to know, Kim. Many thanks.
DeleteThere is a strong sense of being embattled here, of having one's back to the wall for a desperate fight. yet the language remains beautifully etched as a craftsman's scrollwork on a prized piece. Light and darkness mix and swirl here, and the narrator is both working through a particularly personal hell, and serving as Everyman. I especially like the opening, which pulls the reader in like a ghost with very material hands, which I suppose is as good a definition of memory as any other. Fine writing, Kerry. My very great pleasure to read it. (I have found my ancient copy of the Collected Poems of Dylan Thomas, which I received for Christmas at the age of 18. It is barely hanging together, yet it holds as many treasures as a pharoah's tomb.)
ReplyDeleteThank you for coming over to read, Joy. I'm a bit tardy in my follow ups!
DeleteYes, this poem falls under the 'Deaths' heading, the strange passion one feels for the shade, the lover gone to ground. Of course, the death may not be literal.
My thanks for your insights. i always learn more about my own poems when I read your response. Greatly appreciated.
I find it particularly intriguing when you let your mind wander into the darkness, the richness of its embrace - and yet how you always thread this silver-star-lit beauty that is ephemeral, like a phosphorescence in the darkest parts of the ocean.
ReplyDeleteThis poem dances within skins - of the body and flesh, amidst death and decay and yet sparks within the act of lovemaking - choosing another form of madness, free-fall into an abyss, metaphorically speaking.
I think this is a type of poem one just has to sit with, read and reread, in order to fully embrace it, and let its nuances and complexities infuse .... which means, in opinion, it is very enjoyable. :)
Thank you so much, Pat. From your reading, i am happy that I achieved what I set out to do with this little tombstone of a poem.
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