You took my breath, Sylvia

 exhaled an insurgence of reckless words 

  onto the pages in an impetuous squeeze

aspirations bled disasters of pen's toxic desire

    insanity's reflections within polarizing ink

plummeting souls of a menacing sundown's revival

  tormenting praise's influence pain's abysmal grip

hero's name written in shadows of colossus 

    jar'd phrases before departure off daddy's ledge

     upon graffiti'd walls of Sylvia's egg rock psyche

knocking the world's poetic axis sideways in madness

  relegated to darkness, terrifying bump in the night

metaphors of an untimely light passage's prerogative

  gone of each labor'd breath's confessional release

sword bled a crimson siphon of exhaust's final tilt

   melancholy chants of 'I Am' resonate in my head

   brag of a familiar beat that collapsed a b*****d heart

footsteps knocked at the wither'd  mushroom sighs

  in notes left beyond a carbon monoxide winter's gate

Author's Note

Reviews

[icelandicblue]

This is gorgeously sad. You've captured events from her life with a profound empathy for her suffering and for her untimely ending. I love her work but it pains me that her brilliance came from such a dark and deep place that eventually she just embraced it. She was her most prolific in the months before she died. I've always thought of it as the calm before the storm. You've done a wonderful job in your tribute to her and the in creating the loss we feel when we read this.

[Frieda P]

She was indeed a tortured soul, one of my favorite poets, her brilliance did come from a dark place mostly, I don't think she realized how much she'd be missed and celebrated. Thanks so much Anne.

[N!LoC]

wow.... so nice......................... yes... sad.. but nice ..

[Shirlena]

These words have a downhearted feel to them. I'll have to read some of Sylvia Plath's work just to remember what her poetry sounded like. Obviously, a tribute to one of your favorite poets and one she would be very proud to have inspired in you also flattered by a gifted poetess as yourself in your own right.

[star73]

very deep and creative something different out of the ordinary.

[Thomas Fitzgerald]

A most delicious sadness comes over me while reading this piece, well done good read.

[Lyn Anderson]

What a great tribute. Inspires me to write of some of my faves. :)

[Baby Ricochet]

The ending's kind of apocalyptic. That's kinda cool

[Rebecca Buller]

Perfection once again, milady! I'm tempted to do something similar with Emily Dickinson. You've inspired me to do so:) Very well done!!

[Madalyn Beck]

My God! Frieda, this absolutely blew me away! The first lines alone sucked the breath from my lungs. I don't know how you do it, but every time I am amazed by your work. This is a torturous write my dear, and you know how I love the darkness. Definitely a favorite for me! xo (;

[Tai Ryens]

You've certainly captured the essence of Plath's life profoundly, from the both frightening and stunning candor of her mind and the devastating loss of her life in '63. Such a tortured and brilliant soul and it's disheartening she had to endure such tragic hardships. It must be terrifying to fight the war of survival everyday of your life, in which your enemy's main strategy is to convince you that no war is going on.

An extravagant tribute to Plath, a stunning writer that I'm sure has inspired many, myself included.

[Troy Henson]

The work of a tortured soul is honestly some of the best work we can ever come across however most of it goes un noticed.

A very moving piece Frieda.