You're Upset

 

 

 

 

 

You're Upset?

 

 

Because winds never swayed

In the direction

That your ships desired

 

And all other flags

Have burned and blackened

With no trace of fire

 

Rise from your sulking

And spoon with your short fingers

Beneath the roots of this coast

Where fathers of fathers of their fathers

Had fitted with uneven sheets

Of soil, stones, and eerie city ruins

 

Such a large slice of a large cake,

But don't hold your breath,

 

Not quite eatable,

Yet soon to be scaled, dreaded

And nourished with death…

 

Tilt the ocean with the edge of your palms,

And don't waver, I know you're polite.

Drink the calm, grief and delight

All soaked before the times

Of Adam and his madam

 

Drink all the emerald green and azure blue

You won't feel the unpleasant aftertaste

Of jellyfish, urchins, and electric eels too

 

Nor will you choke

On turning blue whales

Or sea turtles

Or monster squids

Or the Titanic

 

Drink every whirlpool and hurricane

And don't be concerned

With salt, sand or the rumbling screams

You might have heard

Of mermaids, demons or drowned sailor dreams.

 

Drink and let me know

How it feels to have a hole

In your stomach

And in your washroom's sink

And a hundred more oceans

For Your Highness to drink…

 

Author's Note

*Drink the sea (or seawater) is an old Arabic expression and a response to someone's confession of being upset or angry with you. This expression is very similar to saying: I don't care if you're not happy, and even if you drink the entire sea to show me how upset you are.

Reviews

[Astro]

That is a profound way to explain ones indifference. Interesting to learn though. Some people like to whine a lot though and this would indeed come in handy. Thanks for sharing.

[khalid]

i know that saying very well ( ishrab min elbahr>>Drink from the sea water>> it is said when someone shows you that they are angry with you while they are the reason of the trouble...
i liked how you have penned this poem..

[TL Boehm]

This is a stellar write - deep and delivered with a chilled frost of venom. Awesome poetry.

[Sami Khalil]

A splendid read and write. Thank you too for the amazing Arabic saying...:)

[Jamie Cook]

One! I friggin love that picture! I think I have found my twin!!! Look at me, the blue one right there! twinzies!!! :3 But the poem was soooo awesome! I was reading that half expecting some sad poem with emotions but NOPE! Something better the ocean! Cause nothing says I'm so effing screwed and depressed about it, then you're fair maiden of a ship on the high seas getting destroyed! What a lovely way to transform the situation with rushing water. Awesome job! It was so beautifully written with the imagery! Woot woot! :D

[Bluefire]

I love this!
I love the story and the images splayed throughout this in beautifully colored paint of the mind.
I like that it's got images of the sea. I think it's pretty and out of this world.
Well done!