the measure

the man i meet

in the mirror

            is not the same

i don’t know him

behind the shaving cream

            under the blade

but he is me

            when we bleed

 

i read stories

            chapters that seem to unfold

out of place

and the characters

                        they do things

                        i promised myself

                        i would never

how did they get

            there

sitting in that chair

            is that a notebook

            barely legible lines

straight lines, punctuation, perfect structure "

barren of content

            whose hand is that there

            twirling black ball point pen

                        a miniature baton

                        dancing around knuckles

                        resting on thumb

 

whoever owns those hands

must not care

whoever guides that pen

must have a soul

stained with blight

            can a man wither

            disquiet and discolor

can a man not know

himself

 

we meet again

always at night

            opaque lines

            translucent tears

            like spiderwebs

            crawl down the sides

            chase the wine

                        until all that’s left

                        is nothing to me

but would easily drown

that tiny man

            staring back at us

Reviews

[carol burgess romance]

A very indepth read....when we take measure of the person in the mirror it can be a life changing experience...enjoyed this very much

[Aethereal]

Yes, every writer is submerged within his art as a cork would be within an ocean. Your writing has excellent flow and cadence. I enjoy how all of your tiny phrases harmonize with each other to form a symphony of meaning.

[ChemicalMadness]

Thank you so much! I really appreciate your kind words!
CM

[Cool Handless Luke]

i am reminded of my poem "it's just me" a somewhat older piece i don't believe you have read. because of this i can definitely see where you are coming from and going to. sometimes we write things and for the life of us, years later we wonder what state of mind could we have been in to write such a thing. and sometimes it's very hard to identify, even with ourselves, and even with a mirror right in front of us. it's surreal. an out of body experience almost. you did a wonderful job with this one. i like the flow of it even with the lines being off center from each other they still manage to fit exactly where you put them. there's an errant quotation mark in there that i have discovered the software here places instead of the hyphen that you typed. i don't know why it does this but i find myself having to go back and fix it on mine. thanks for recommending this one. i thoroughly enjoyed the read.

[ChemicalMadness]

i'll definitely have to check it out...
i was literally 2 seconds away from walking out the door when i wrote this...it was not unlike writing a quick post it to yourself to remember you'd left the wine in the freezer...but it was somehow imperative for me to get it out before i left. i didn't expect much from it...so i'm certainly glad to see it has connected. I loved your take and always take away so much from your feedback.....Diego-like, this one ;)
Thanks, bud.
CM.

[Cool Handless Luke]

yeah i have had those before. had to pull over so i could write. bought a digital recorder to make that easier.

[Girl Friday (Sarah W.)]

This is probably the most introspective piece I have ever read of yours. In reading this, I feel a little like I am watching a man break through some kind of emotional wall or barrier. I can see him beating his head against it, and suddenly the brick and mortar gives and everything sort of spills out.

I've felt this way...looking in the mirror and dissecting the girl looking back at me. Is she really me? Does she do the things that I would do, say the things that I would say? Who is she anyway? She is my split personality; she is the one who writes the poetry, and I am the one who sits in the background, listening, watching, hoping...

This is very nicely written, CM. One of your best.

[ChemicalMadness]

i forgot to take my cryptic pills today...i'll work on obscuring myself tomorrow ;)
I truly appreciate your thoughts here...i thought you might find something to connect with here. glad i was right....i really value your insight. Thank you.

[Girl Friday (Sarah W.)]

No pills...more wine and more writing! :)

[_mal]

You are very talented. I like the way you break your lines, your poetry reads beautifully whatever the subject

[ChemicalMadness]

So good to see you, my friend. Ill be by shortly. Thank you so much for those words....they count....

[_mal]

Make me feel all special lol. I look out for your work in my subscriptions every day

[Ed Hart]

there's more than one in there besides 'you'; in fact, we are legion...it's a long way home

[ChemicalMadness]

Truth.......

[K. Louis]

This was powerful. You took the reader on a journey with a clear beginning middle and end. I really enjoyed the contemplation in this piece, but what really stuck out to me was that whole last stanza; It spoke volumes and really tied in well with where you began the poem. Very well done Cm!

[ChemicalMadness]

Thank you, K!

[Blissful Sin]

I love how the worlds play out, this reminds me of one of my poems I just recently done. I love how you describe such normal movements, yet you flow it out so uniquely! Great piece!

-Bliss

[ChemicalMadness]

Thanks so much, Bliss

[jacob erin-cilberto]

how can you say this might not last long...

i love the reflection...who is this looking back? which one am i?

the real person with flaws and depth and pain...or the one who writes in the notebook with perfect form, but an empty heart, and no feeling. "we bleed just know we're alive" as the song says..

"the barren content" maybe i feel like this lately with my writing...all of these six word stories, acrostic poems, haikus and senryus...all this form...maybe i am taking the content, the guts out of the writing...and i am just a reflection of the shell of the writer i thought i would never become.

this moved me right into the reflect...i felt i was looking into a mirror reading this.

[ChemicalMadness]

I don't know, Jacob. I just had a lot if doubts with this one, which isn't normal for me... thank you for assuaging my fears....

Loved your insight and so happy you connected!!