for Z

for a friend.

I pierced my fingers with that most

delicate piece of glass jutting out of her skin

about two inches long shard

cambering out of her at a horrifying angle

and even though my mind was racing

to remember medicine's ABC

Airway

Breathing

Circulation

my eyes got glued to her lips.

She had the loveliest smile I had ever seen

beautiful enough to fill your heart with a strange creaking sorrow

I had so wanted to break it into pieces

distributing a bit among everything that was ugly

Dont know why perhaps I have  tendency to be jealous

of things overtly pretty or hideous

There it was now lying  on her lips,light as butterfly wings

a climacteric beauty suddenly turned rigid,static and monotonous.

The eyes they had always been average

and  she wore the most outrageous shades on them

but since we are prone to give dying concessions

Don't worry my friend,i'll find them metaphors

rather strange ones

so those twin dark tunnels exuded a smoky mystery

and everyone wants to f**k a mysterious girl

(haven't our mothers been telling us that)

The air was dense with a chemical I knew nothing about

honestly speaking a bit happy 'cause i wasn't sitting on that seat

near the window

from where you can see the garden, the Corollas,the sunshine

and the boys playing football,their pants clinging to their wet bulges

(I know  she would have said it was worth it)

And even though i hate to be truthful at times like these

but dear friend,like Larkin and Mr.Bleaney

like all things that had meaning

like your 20 years old inflinchable faith on Allah and Shahid Afridi

(even when both were losing)

like all the rhymes you knew

 we will willingly forget you.

Reviews

[paul]

such unique thinking expressed here. pure art

[An owl on the moon]

Powerful insights of humanity flow through the darkness of your words... shades and shadows... I felt like there was more to this story than the lines on this page.. hoping there might be.. So well done.

[Joanna Maharis]

I love the beautiful imagery and metaphor throughout this piece. Great use of language. I found this poem to be captivating.

[*]

So sad, especially the last line. It encapsulates the overall darkness and pain we want to avoid when losing someone close. The image you portray of one we have never known pulls us in to the sorrowful reflection before you. Your words are always so powerful.

[Narnie]

oh my goodness... this is the second I have read tonight with such a strong voice which you get transported inside. You have an amazing ability to mix modern feeling with classical undertones. I love the ocassional rhyme too... excellently constructed.

[NoneOfYourBusiness akaK..]

haunting imagery throughout~ very surreal~ the narrators voice is a character all its own that gives the poem a deeper mystique beneath the surface~

[Chris Smith Welshpoetcs]

I can relate to the ABC (being a Hospital Porter). Now for the poem, this haunts me and the raw effect strikes hard. Well written.

[Jibey]

This is so heart-wrenching... so perceptively honest and direct... the raw emotion and reflection of her situation and beauty and attraction like a vivid movie clip of the moment and of the 20 year old girl who watched the wet bulges and then found herself piereced by a shattered world

[abhas]

the 'she' is sure making me think.... your words are great as always... with the ending stressing on the fact that time will act as a pain dissolving lotion for the hypocrites that we are...
anyways i cant say anything about Allah... but Shahid Afridi's no more the same... come to think of it.. who is...

[Khaaki]

So touching... You write so strongly, so sincerely, every word comes from the heart and reaches every heart... She is alive... in your words... May Allah's peace and blessings be on her, on you and on everybody...