layers

you peel away
the layers
of pain
in my heart.

slowly
with the delicacy
of flower-petal
prayers.

i am shocked into
submission
by the fact that
someone cares.

the stamen of
my starry-eyes
cradles the scent
of something new.

i scurried swift into
the earth
but blossom slowly
just for you.

i unfold
to the sunshine
and offer
nectar sweet

how can I wither
when I'm folded deep
within
your heat.

i sleep now
with the soft, sweet
delirium of
dreams.

to the promise
of my petals
and silky earthen
streams.

the fading fragrance
of my soul
has begun to shiver
and expand.

suddenly I feel
capable
of the strength
which life demands.

yes…

you peel away
these layers
in my heart.
 

Reviews

[The Rock And Roll Cowbo..]

Where do I begin again... damn Kara once again your words leave me trying ti find the right ones worthy of praise for you work... this speaks so gently of how love can heal those emotional scars of the past like neosporen... I've read many thing on the subject and written them myself but the way you phrase it is divine...

i scurried swift into
the earth
but blossom slowly
just for you.

like this stanza what a way to say you are coming out of your protected state to take a chance on something you know is real. I could go on and on... the beauty in your words are like that of a red rose blooming.

[Six Impossible Things]

ooo. very sensual. I like the flower metaphor and good job with carrying it the whole way through.

I rarely find rhyming poems that I enjoy, but this does it for me- probably because your voice carries this with such grace. Nothing sounds forced and the rhythm is perfect.
This drifts along beautifully.

[Kara Rae Garland]

Bravo, Kara! I am always a fan of onion layering and flowering imagery and you do this very well here with a simplicity that I admire. Good work. I love the trembling of it and the vulnerability.

[JP thinks the WC is apt..]

The poem itself blossoms in time with your character, who is both fragile and trusting. A very delicate little piece that is nicely paced and structred.

[Brian Eric Alpiger]

A great analogy that mimics the fraility both in a blossomed rose:: as your true love in an open palm.

[Lyttleton]

I read the word 'pain' in the first stanza of a poem and was like, "oh s**t...", but no, this was not at all what I expected, and that last stanza was a great payoff for the first one.
It could just be me and the way I think, but this is very sensual (sexual) but with enough distance to also just be sweet and pretty (it's a poem that rhymes and I don't hate it).

"i sleep now
with the soft, sweet
delirium of
dreams.

to the promise
of my petals
and silky earthen
streams."

That's quite a pair of paragraphs right in a row, entirely liquid in their flow.

"Soul" is another word I balk at in poetry, but you build up enough good will in your excellent imagery that I forgive it and accept it. A poem of this nature (romantic, devoted) is hard to pull off without sounding like a bag of clich�s, but you do a very good job of crafting something that stands out and on its own. Strong words.

[Julia Casa]

I love your poetic patience. The slow unfolding of this poem is wonderful. Every verse pulled me in more and more. I have so much trouble expressing all that I want to when I write, but you seem to show the picture so completely. Inspiring.

[Coco Haynie]

Just lovely. Very appealing to the senses and soothing read.

[Dorian Blake]

This is really beautiful. The imagery is so real and easy to connect with the emotion you are trying to express.

"the stamen of
my starry-eyes
cradles the scent
of something new"

I love the way that sounds; it's not always about how to be original or rythmic or provacative with the words one chooses, they have to sound good together, and you accomplish this many times in your piece.

"I sleep now
with the soft, sweet
delirium of
dreams."

Delirium of dreams is such a flowing way to describe that state. It is really difficult to keep a theme like the life of a flower while time passes for the real message; you chose a powerful yet gentle action to go with your analogy. I love it.

[Sarah Williams]

Wow...this was a spectacular dispaly of flow, rythem and use of concept. I love the way that you used the "flower" imagery all the way through this poem until the end. Imagery is beautiful, but all the more so when it is well thought out and turned into an entire concept that is not broken throughout a piece.

"you peel away
these layers
in my heart."--what a lovely ending to an equally lovely poem!

[The Guerrilla Warhol]

not my style, but good flow and use of rhythm.