The Urn

Grief became the bitter centerpiece
that spliced twin lives together,
cackled as it smothered the desperate
embers roaring with passion
burning on from the ashes of trepidation
that gave way to the collapse
of hierarchy. 

Alas, life cannot be lived
like birds confined to a cage,
a slave to routine
dreaming of escape
while the entrance remained
wide open.

If only you’d see pass the shattered glass
and into a world that kept moving
you’d find that picking up the pieces
stirs the ashes of a past long gone,
stirs them into the billowing tornadoes
of terror that stood over us,
watching us like death.

Author's Note

My first trek out of a month-long hiatus plagued by writer's block . . .

Reviews

[paul sal.....]

A lot of us live as if caged, even with unlocked doors, it has been the same for a long long time, mix the ashes with some fertlilizer and plant a rose in the mix, new blossoms defy death....

[Tai Ryens]

Thank you for stopping by, paul sal.

[Frieda P]

How did I miss this gorgeous deathly masterpiece, you set my emotions on fire with this one. I love every word but that last stanza stuck in my heart like a sword. Darkly majestic my friend. Going in my favorites toot sweet...

[Tai Ryens]

Always happy to see you stop by, thanks for reviewing, Frieda.

[Einstein Noodle]

i think the last four lines are quite brilliant as they say ... very very emotive and powerful ..
did you mean past or passed the shattered glass??? ... instead of"... pass the shattered glass"

when my mother died i met with my children downstairs where the different styles of coffins are kept .. it was a quiet place for me to talk about my plan to be cremated when i die .. i wanted their input .. they also had different urns on display and i pointed one out that was a little mountain with animals trees etc on it .. very artisitic and reflective of my own love of the mountains and forests .. it came with smaller pieces in the same theme .. i said some of me could be in the big one and each of you could have some in one of the smaller ones if they wanted .. my wise guy older son instantly quipped "I get-a-leg" ... i still think it is quite funny .. any way .. your title reminded me of that ..

i love your poem .. the way you have woven a lot of living into it .. vivid metaphors ..and its layered .. love all that .. and again i think those last lines are really good!
E.

[Tai Ryens]

Lovely thoughts, thank you for taking the time to review, Einstein.

[BlackRose]

An intriguing piece. Superb nonetheless. Excellent use of words. Enjoyed reading it.

[Tai Ryens]

Thanks, BlackRose.

[lee von cleef]

wait weight symbols death is such a maze of emotion, and you have set it free to fly,

[Tai Ryens]

Thank you for your thoughts.

[Nusquam Esse]

I found this to be a fascinating poem, balancing great word choice, subtle contradictions, and wistful, surreal emotion. The idea of uniting through a grief which smothers passion; it is an odd idea. And the way you show how the past impacts us, and the need, yet difficulty in moving on. The only error I saw was that you should use 'past' instead of 'passed', passed is only used as a verb (except in a few old figures of speech); in this sentence, 'see' is your verb, so 'passed' is actually an adverb, meaning that it should be 'past'.

[Nusquam Esse]

A good way of figuring out which form to use (past or passed) is try writing the sentence with a present tense of 'pass', if it feels awkward, don't use passed. "you'd see pass the"

[Tai Ryens]

You learn something new everyday, hmph. Thank you, Nusquam Esse, I shall keep that in mind for the future.

[Bluefire]

This is dark, yet shows a door wide open with a blinding light on the other side.
I especially like the last stanza. This is pretty darn good, but I can see where it was kind of a struggle. Such is to be expected from one emerging from the ashes of writers block.
Despite everything, this poem is very well played!

[Tai Ryens]

Writer's block certainly is such a plague to the mind and I despise it so; thank you for the lovely review, Blue.

[Bluefire]

No problem. ^^
I despise it too.

[Baby Ricochet]

The trouble with living life in a cage is sooner or later someone comes along and rattles the s**t out of it. Good poem Tai.

[Tai Ryens]

You know it! Thanks, Baby!

[Great Aunt Astri]

Good for you! I hope your Muse is back with you. This is a very deep poem and you have some lovely imagery. It reads very nicely, dealing with a difficult, but oh so common, situation. Well done.

[Tai Ryens]

Ah, I thank you for taking the time to review.