bite the eye

They purposefully misunderstand:

bite the eye, cross the hand.

What feeds desire is a thing so grand,

it lights a fire; makes glass of sand.

Like thund'rous love that carries off

the lightning soul to bear a cross,

a show of faith will sometimes leave

the nakedness, the shaking knees.

Like booming hearts and booming love

we find no peace: the flight of doves 

means little to necks craning up

to stare at the sky: the ones who sup

from you bread, your flesh,

your fruit, your gold -

your brothers, your sisters, your heart they hold -

and squeeze.

Author's Note

This, to me, is a poem about betrayal. I hope everyone will tell me what it is to them.

Reviews

[Girl Friday (Sarah W.)]

An interesting write indeed. There is some crypticness to the words, which makes it difficult to pin down the exact emotion or overall concept the writer intended, but not all poetry is supposed to be in your face obvious, so I actually liked this feeling. I did not necessarily feel betrayal, I felt more of a questioning of religion and morality. There are many references to "the cross" and "faith", which leads me to believe this has a religioius undertone (had there only been one reference it may not have led me in that direction).

Overall, the flow was great and the rhyme was strong. I enjoyed the tempo and the imagery as well. Nicely written.

[Sarah Khalil]

Your interpretation is thoughtful and I so appreciate it! Thank you so much, it made my day :)

[SyberRose]

People betray sometimes because they feel betrayed themselves...a lot of reasons...neglect for one or some people are just weak when it comes to the opposite sex...I enjoyed these lines:

Like thund'rous love that carries off
the lightning soul to bear a cross,
a show of faith will sometimes leave
the nakedness, the shaking knees.

Like booming hearts and booming love
we find no peace: the flight of doves

Rose:)

[Sarah Khalil]

Thanks for reading and reviewing Rose, you always spare a lovely thought :)

[Keith]

I don't see betrayal so much as desire influencing reason. Love those words "purposefully misunderstand", never heard them together before, but that is exactly what we see when people want their own version of the truth. Hauntingly mysterious, like much of your work.

[Sarah Khalil]

Well desire influencing reason could lead to betrayal! Doing what's easy or what you want to do rather than what you know is right or what seems reasonable? Obviously yours is a larger umbrella. I think the phrase "purposefully misunderstand" is the key phrase here. It's not even "purposely", on purpose, but "purposefully" - WITH purpose. Thank you so much for reading and your thoughtful review!