My Cathedral

Father wakes up dead every morning

trapped in a house he doesn’t recognize 

the door swings wide more often than it used to

but floors beneath him remain the same

fuzzy orange carpet (just the way he likes it)

thick and dull so you don’t hear the sounds

Father comes home with lead in his shoes

dragging his anxieties like three screaming toddlers 

they’ve grown a lot since he first started working

from cool-aid and freeze pops to vodka and condoms 

He comes home 

exhausted of paying for their 

"mistakes"

I 

walk 

through 

the 

door

The pressure bursts

Voice pounding in my ears like fists

repetitive banging of symbols and drums 

vibrates down to my spine, crushing me

shaking the foundation I’ve been re-building.

I don’t feel it anymore, you’ve already eroded me

eroded me with your constant crash

“Why isn’t anything I do ever good enough?”

fighting with you is like yelling in a cathedral 

at the top of my lungs  

all echos, no answers

Bells ring, it’s that hour again

more than the neighbors turn their heads 

mother cries, sister hides, brother bides his time

they wait for the moment of silence 

the end of the ringing

Reviews

[Harmonia Chimera]

Oh. My. Gods. I'm absolutely dumbstruck. I fear I'll undermine the talent you have and the absolutely amazingness of the piece, but you have a spelling mistake in the third line ('then' to 'than'). My own father was an alcoholic, so I feel like I have a special connection to this poem. It could be interpreted in different ways, it evokes emotion; you play with the words, the lines, everything to only enhance the message and the connection, and I bow before your skills. Your friend was very smart to have you read your poem out loud; I know it must've been a big scary step to show your writing to the world (a step I've gone through myself once), but I can tell you right now the world is absolutely not harmed in any way. Quite the opposite, actually.

[Melanie Genevieve]

I truly appreciate you coming by and sharing a little of your story too. I think it's beautiful the way poetry can build connections. This story that I told is something really personal. Seeing how poetry resonates with other people is what made me want to share more of my writing in the first place. We all have a stories to tell. I'm also really happy you pointed that error out. I can't believe I didn't catch that. lol Fixed it! Thank you so much for the beautiful review!

[Girl Friday (Sarah W.)]

I always know I'm in for a treat when the first line of a piece truly slaps me in the face with emotion and unique style...I'm on the edge of my seat for the rest of the "ride". This was so vivid in terms of imagery, but the emotional content was amazing. I love the "fuzzy orange carpet" and "Bells ring, it's that hour again"--such great lines. You have written something special here. Very nicely done!

[Melanie Genevieve]

Thank you so much!! & Thank you so much for swinging by! :D

[Sharon L.H. Kelly]

'Father wakes up dead every morning", love it. Excellent use of metaphors and symbolisms, especially the cathedral. Amazing work, my dear!

[Melanie Genevieve]

Thank you so much! I really appreciate you stopping by again :D

[JC]

wow, this is really incredible...from start to finish, amazing insight and use of metaphor, this last part could be a bob dylan song:Bells ring, it’s that hour again
more than the neighbors turn their heads
mother cries, sister hides, brother bides his time
they wait for the moment of silence
the end of the ringing

hard to believe you were hiding these great words for so long, looking forward to reading more...

[Melanie Genevieve]

Thank you so much! I really appreciate you stopping by :D

[Androglossia]

This gave me chills, the cathedral part. Although I grew up a peter pan, the thought sips through my gut. Very effective.

[kublakhan27]

I came to this piece from Music Is A Sage and find myself in some dark parallel universe...this is haunting, despairing, ominous, and sad...there are far too many people in the world that I know can relate to this...it says much about the deterioration of the family spirit in the generations of our lives...like many of the others, I thought the cathedral metaphor was perfect...incredibly powerful work, well done :)

[wunder]

~those are perfect first lines for the first two verses-(they are lines full of talent)~
~"Father wakes up dead every morning"/"Father comes home with lead in his shoes"~
~your 'Cathedral' - is a great image - you don't hide any emotions ~poems Love! that~ :))

~"mother cries, sister hides, brother bides his time
they wait for the moment of silence"~Nice! it's a great write!~

[Melanie Genevieve]

Thank you for your words!! :)

[wunder]

~yer welcome-my pleasure~ :)

[Sam]

fighting with you is yelling in a cathedral, you left like out in the sentence.... is like yelling.
Nice write though. I love the symbolism you have and the illustration of fighting being like yelling in a cathedral.
I can relate. Great read and great write. Thank you for sharing.

[Melanie Genevieve]

Thank You for reading :)

[Sam]

Any time. Love your writing. :)