The Lashing Post: His point of view

Tragic romance of a slave, his point of view.

Moonlight casts its numb sheen

Over the burned-down farm.

She skeleton of the barn and house

Stretches somberly over dead grass.

Restless spirits have since moved on

And the deathly silence is now calm.

Here it is where I can think and breathe.

I'm lost in blissful neutrality.

It's reminescent of that tiny space

Between life and death: all is possible.

In this ethereal in-between

Our love is finally reality.

We blossom forth in my mind,

Passionate and tender, unstoppable.

Together we are in love and life.

Forgotten are society's chains.

Oh yes, those chains hold us arrested.

The pale moonlight shines my dull cuffs.

I'm prevented from moving from the earth

As I was from that lashing post.

A hundred and fifty years I've been here,

Since being punished for loving you

My sweet May Belle Smith.

I watched you grow happy and old

And I saw your ascendance to Heaven

While my spirit rots here on the earth.

Author's Note

May Belle Smith's side of the story is written by Satine, you can read it here: http://www.writerscafe.org/writing/Satine/309397/

Reviews

[Anima Inspired]

This is a great piece written with an interesting point of view...still, I see this also as a metaphor for any lost love, love beyond death. There is something poignant within these lines, something deep and passionately subtle. I like the way that you use "action" words throughout, like "restless" and "blossom"...nicely written, truly...can't wait to read "her" point of view!

[Satine]

What is happiness my love?
The years drew their breaths
and swept me along with them
my sorrow forbidden---
there would be no neutrality for my sake
nor bliss to comfort a heart hidden.
Smiles belied those filled years
a mask worn to please societies scorn---
but I lived them nonetheless
though they were not of my choosing.
Indeed I went forth for I could not go backward---
If you watched me grow old did you not watch over me
in the quiet moments of youth as well?
For only in those fleeting moments left to solitary thoughts
could my heart bear the memory of our love...
But I have said enough, come to me now
and I shall tell you the rest all in good time my love.
I beg you, break through the ethereal in-between
where you have resided these long years
for in death our love can finally be
passionate, tender and unstoppable...

May Belle Smith
aka Satine, how'd I do? :)

[BrightEyes]

oh wow - you have so many emotions rolling around in this piece - I can feel the love he had for her; his joy at her happiness; his sadness at their separation and his pain at his eternal slavery. such a sad and tragic piece but an amazing write!

[.::Cup^E^Cake*RaWr!*::.]

This is a great poem john...
omg well I had some stuuf for the contest but I don't think it's good enough...I'm going to try to write something else.

[Michael X]

John, I really enjoyed the dimension, feature you entwined throughout the fabric- giving each detail
quality, classic design is captured very well, the sense of ethereal desire, the yearning for a heart

that has traveled beyond, this is expressed just as a lover held captive, relinuishing last rights,
would communicate intentions across the miles, one establishing feature that added additional

depth in the setting which brings the reader to moment is the environment and its casting glow.
Take Care, Mike