To Exist Outside

A walk would do me good, they said -

a brisk jaunt at water’s edge,

to stain my pale skin pink, and fill

my lungs with hopeful air.

 

Along the dock I found my stride,

avoiding the iridescent entrails of fish,

and discarded J-hooks, glinting,

like long abandoned jewelry.

 

I caught the rhythm of laughing men

casting lines into a muddy harbor,

and I imagined breathing easier beneath

that murky reflection of Eos’ indigo eyes.

 

Leave this cluttered chamber, they said -

you are fading into the papered walls,

wilting like a snipped Hyacinth, and strangely

it seemed, I traded one mausoleum for another,

 

as rough hands pulled curved metal

from wet throats, and together,

(the fish and I) our sides heaved, as we

tried desperately to exist in the wrong world.

Reviews

[Angi]

That last stanza is the crux of it all, Sarah. This puzzling world seems to hold my place hostage somewhere just outside of my reach. I so often feel out of sorts and out of place. Wonderful imagery and thought in crafting this poem. Angi~

[Girl Friday (Sarah W.)]

I'm glad you could relate to this one, Angi. Thank you.

[annie lee]

This is haunting with despair, the kind troubled hearts and minds must experience as they try to find their ways in this world that has ruined, hurt, rejected or cursed them. Their glasses are not rose-colored; they search for escape and see it in portals that leave us gasping in shock. You have rendered this beautifully and memorably.

[Girl Friday (Sarah W.)]

Thank you so much, Annie!

[jennifer little]

great write good work keep up the good work another 100 for a rating

[Girl Friday (Sarah W.)]

Thank you so much!

[emmajoy]

There's a hell in this, a slowly discovered nightmare of emotions and dark daytime nights. I think i need go outside and inhale, slowly and deeply, your words are near terrifying.. yet magnificently created. '.. and strangely ~ it seemed, I traded one mausoleum for another '

[Girl Friday (Sarah W.)]

Thank you so much for reading, Emma!

[David Scott]

I wish I could not relate to this poetry...
Exits have an attractive glow. The door leads nowhere and escapes everything while solving nothing.
I can see the fish eyes on the floating heads...
I don't know what to think and the feeling is impossible to describe.
You have my heart confused.

[Girl Friday (Sarah W.)]

Thank you, David.

[Rebecca Buller]

Jim Morrison (from The Doors) wrote, "Shake dreams from your hair...The day's divinity. First thing you see. A vast radiant beach in a cool jeweled moon."
GF, your words simply touch the soul and open my eyes to an ocean I have yet to visit. Thank you for sharing this with us. When I shut my eyes, I'm at the water's edge as well. Perfection.

[Girl Friday (Sarah W.)]

Thank you so much, Rebecca!

[Emily B]

oh, oh . . . i feel these words intensely today

[Girl Friday (Sarah W.)]

Thank you for reading, Emily...I am glad you can relate, because that must mean that I'm not alone :)

[Vyse Cross]

Most interesting... I love the sea, especially the image you depict. A dock, with fisherman, and well... Just the sort one might read of in story books.

[Girl Friday (Sarah W.)]

Thank you, my friend.

[Jack...]

The weight of this piece is overwhelming, this lost feeling that you describe, sacttered on the wind like so many pieces of someone else's dreams. Sarah, this is intoxicatingly sad and I feel these tears falling into emptiness.

[Girl Friday (Sarah W.)]

Thank you so much, Jack :)