Embittersweetened

She is already speaking to me in past tense

as if I wouldn't notice that today is today

and not yesterday.

You were refreshing, she says,

a refreshing dip into cool water from hot sun.

Jacob, she continues, was a toothache to start

and a painful extraction at the end.

I am embittersweetened.

For one, I am not Jacob

But I also am not anything, anymore.

Now, I was.

Reviews

[...]

You said the title perfectly in the poem. Sweet write, dear poet :)

[M. Shepherd]

Thank you Lynn :)

[terry smith]

wow!! you have a special way of writing what you feel...amazing!

[Philip Muls]

Great title. And you describe very well how you feel dismissed, discounted, a thing that was. Great work.

Could you read mine.

[Robert Parlange]

I always wonder if people realize the damage they cause in a broken relationship. Some can just move on to the next objective, others have to live and survive in what was left behind. Those without empathy seek out those with feelings, like moths to a flame. Then they move on.

Wow, that's bitter.

Good write.

[W.k.kortas]

I concur with the wise Jacob as to the effectiveness of the title; it's a quite inspired choice. I was struck by the notion of elasticity in this piece--of time, of the nature of relationships, of our sense of self. It's a pretty fair trick to evoke all of that in a mere eleven lines.

[M. Shepherd]

Thank you wk :)

[jacob erin-cilberto]

love the one word oxymoron of the title...

we get so jaded from relationships that drill through our hearts, with no Novocaine to suppress the pain.

j.

[M. Shepherd]

Thank you Jacob :)

[. serah .]

-- absolutely riveting stuff... -- your words give me occasion to delve deep into changing equations and changing identities... -- jacob's portrayal is powerfully precise... but most of all... i'm intrigued by the time-travelling in this piece... makes me wonder about how much we lose our 'selves' over time... or evolve... depending upon who is looking... and from where... or when...

[M. Shepherd]

Thank you Serah - and interesting thought, how much of ourself we lose when the equation changes, what it means to continue existence as a memory..

[. serah .]

-- 'tis a privilege to read ya... -- and yes... existence as a memory too... -- the human mind is so complex... and sensitive to every image and impression it stores...