It Can't Be True

I lay my head in hand
and go blank with tears that slide slowly down to burgundy sheets.

Somewhere near, in my memories,
The fog lay its chords down like fingers
On the neck of a good guitar.
Feel it cool and smooth in my hand
Worn in familiar ways like a friend,
The lone survivor of the war.

So much of my life is nothing more than a simplistic soundtrack
stretching backward in lost faded pictures
and home movies that ended up in someone else’s trash.
I know…You keep your memories in your heart
and hope you memorized the lines well enough to recite them
with truth and conviction, no additions or subtractions
without outside addictions or distractions.

Where will I go when I raise my head? 
There, in someone else’s town,
I’ll learn to forget
And echo children’s smiles until the morning comes
Without fog and the music is mine again.
I’ll sing your song, remember your smile
Under the full moon of a new year come to stay.

Reviews

[Emily B]

No more smiles, only echoes of smiles. That may be the strongest, saddest image all the way through. There in someone else's town, where you'll pretend that you're learning to forget.

There is so much raw emotion in these words. This is a beautiful write, I hope it isn't your loss described in the lines.

[Blue Bard]

Why do we scratch these words out? I think it has to do with memory and immortality. Sometimes I think the arts are our way of hedging our bets when it comes to heaven. You capture this sublime paranoia. What will I do when I raise my head? An apt question. Deftly done.

[Charles Ferguson]

So much conviction in this. I know at times your life seems simple. As you said ?life is nothing more than a simplistic soundtrack? Why not make your own music. With that there friendly guitar. Life is what you make of it. Great writing potential you have.

[penloverfool]

the piece is somewhat a melancholic yet sweet music that lulls my spirit to slumber amidst the complexity of powerful emotion.

wonderful work!

[Imperfection]

The flow is very smooth and subtle.
No strong, drastic words used...yet the outcome is very powerful.

I like it.

[Emily B]

I read this today and it was brand new. The sensory images of the guitar jumped out at me this time. Not the grief. Not the lost memories. This time, I hoped that in echoing the smiles of children, the narrator would someday learn to smile again.

[Val]

Hi C,
All the pathos of life is in these lines. The crashing emptiness and lonliness that takes up a good part of our existance as we play out our allotted roles.
Beautiful and melancholy,
Val

[Amanda Crandall]

I come from a family of music so I can relate to how certain instruments and songs can mark different events in life. Although the poem is despairing I don't feel sad, I'm not certain why that is, maybe theres too much hope hidden in it :)

[Brette Medb]

This was sad with a hint of desperation... I loved it! It pulled you in and I especially liked the description of the guitar....really wonderful!


Blessed Be

[Pema Dorje]

... a dark plaint that flows like a riff, electric and with a chord, to lash the angry heart, and start to live by forgetting again ...

writeous write in vers Liberte, the enjambments were the beat!

[Lydia Shutter]

Palpable longing and heartache in this one. The last stanza is the most poignant
"I'll learn to forget
And echo children's smiles until the morning comes" Sometimes we must smile when the feeling is not there....smile to hide the inner tears of loss and heartbreak. Still, there is catharsis at the end of your poem
"I'll sing your song, remember your smile
Under the full moon of a new year come to stay. " I got the feeling you would move on and start over...and that is wonderful. Your poetry is very well written....and a joy to read. Lydia