Ceremonial Embers
Poem for The Last Flame Challenge.
close - your eyes
for a brief moment
give me - your hand
for a spell, a while
do you - feel my heart?
beating
do you - understand?
cerebral
do you - feel the same?
two minds, one soul?
or am I dreaming?
losing consciousness
dreaming and constantly searching
for the match to strike
to light the wick
and set the eternal fire
the neverending flame
the last one, the only one
to bring light to the darkness
to give meaning to the shiftings
in my head and heart
if they ever work together?
will they ever work together?
the two crowning jewels
duelling
duality
where is my sanity
my bleeding sanctimony
that spark of the match brings forth
the magic of quiet ceremonial embers
for a moment I wonder if a hypotenuse is a hypothesis
and what the antithesis is
dexterous pontification
till I need to protect the flame
to keep it alive
feed it oxygen
save it from water
the water rising above me
as I feel I'm drowning
drowning in a mixture of urine, saliva and I am not sure.
I can't...
I
can't
-
can I breathe?
with lungs coated
in ashes
of the bridges
I've burned in the past
fire out fire out
brief candle
but not before
not
before
I
-
I
...
*
Thanks for reading!
About the Creator
Paul Stewart
Award-Winning Writer, Poet, Scottish-Italian, Subversive.
The Accidental Poet - Poetry Collection out now!
Streams and Scratches in My Mind coming soon!
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Comments (10)
I had this bookmarked to read before you dropped me the link. I like what youβve done here. The hypotenuse-hypothesis line is definitely my favorite. Bit of a different feel than mine. Iβm all anxious about this oneβitβs my first challenge entry that Iβve truly put my heart and soul into. And itβs a fucking sestina!
engaging all the way through, but the end, was such a fantastic cliffhanger. I found myself taking in a deep breath with the last I.πππ
All of this "with lungs coated / in ashes / of the bridges / I've burned in the past" is absolutely amazing. Such vivid imagery and an honestly fair question raised. Phenomenal work!
That lungs coated in ashes line was a great one!
shit... you got me with this one, maybe the somber classical music I have playing in the background makes it even more devastating.
Well, that felt like a typical descent into Paul's madness. I started singing Eternal Flame (a favorite from my childhood) and ended gasping for breath and thinking "is this what happens when Paul listens to 80's ballads?"
I hate this! At first I feel like someone is trying to dupe me, and then I feel like by believing that I have completely destroyed someone! I mean, very good and all, but I dont like feeling this way!
those last words were a gasp of breath... perchance an opportunity for a cleansing breath to refill the lungs. .. or perhaps poof- too late... I prefer the ambiguity . very thought provoking poem.
I couldn't help but sing Eternal Flame by Debbie Gibson as I read this π
Well-wrought! An abrupt ending like the candle's flame snuffed in the wind.