Postliminium

He articulated the thing 
beneath his thumb. A variegated canvas 
stretched soundless and thin. 
He roughed his beard in approval and began 
his work. By turns, an artist 
examining the light for contrast; a butcher 
counting the ways and by which knife. 
Pin muscle by number, this splay 
of hopeful flesh. 
Her voice had since been swallowed in deficit breath. 
It lingered there, sucked flat, 
vacuum preserved. Yes, 
she knew that he was in the business 
of repurposing odd things. 
She accepted her own still strangeness 
and imagined how Jesus would have felt, 
risen behind stones that would not roll away.

Reviews

[Alessander]

exceptional diction and imagery. Variegated, splay, butcher, even the small dtails of thumb, beard...

The details almost make the reader twitch

"by which knife. Pin muscle by number, this splay, of hopeful flesh"

Quite visceral. It seems almost clinical, methodical, but this ain't equation, but hopeful flesh

"deficit breath" original and an interesting idea in itself, as breath is life, so this adds to the negation of life, like the vacuum, preserved.

Perhaps the most interesting part of this whole piece is the observer

she knew that he was in the business
of repurposing odd things.
She accepted her own still strangeness

It's almost like the muse watching the artist working, taking the subject apart, butchering, vacuuming, preserving

somewhat methodical, somewhat barbaric

And the witness is almost resigned, passive, accepting...

Not sure how the end ties it. My best guess is jesus transcended flesh inside the stone, but in the common story, he transcended to heaven.

But here, he's still trapped in the cave.

So the subject transcends into a muse, but is still somehow trapped in the terrestrial.

Anyhow, there's lots to munch on here, and extremely well written. Nothing is wasted.

Great piece. Rare 100/100 in my book.

[Onlyme]

wow, blooming hell, this intriguing creepy and makes you think deeply about your words written.

[H.W.]

This is an excellent poem. The imagery is intense and the language beautiful. Each time I read it I find myself thinking of an artist and a serial killer. I will definitely be thinking about this one for a while.