TRIPARTITE SO(U)L MACHINE
Bones of the Earth
TRIPARTITE SO(U)L MACHINE
On gossamer strings you pulled me,
Entangled in the visceral mind.
You really believed you fooled me
But you’re the one left in a bind.
My One Strength denies your power plays,
Like garbage collects in a sieve.
Which is to say, if you don’t change your ways,
I don’t care if we ever leave.
Infernally doomed,
Eternally saved.
TRIPARTITE SO(U)L MACHINE
Vision consumed
And on stone engraved.
TRIPARTITE SO(U)L MACHINE
Fading with time,
The canvas rubbed blank.
TRIPARTITE SO(U)L MACHINE
Now for this rhyme
You have me to thank!
TRIPARTITE SO(U)L MACHINE
***** * *****
Bones of the Earth
I am...
the bones of the earth.
I creak and click
and snap and snick.
I whisper the words
that make sinew stick
to stones, for what it’s worth.
I find no reason
to disrupt the season,
this moment of decay,
for on cloud nine or in the pit
we only ever accrue it...
to give it away.
I am...
About the Creator
C. Rommial Butler
C. Rommial Butler is a writer, musician and philosopher from Indianapolis, IN. His works can be found online through multiple streaming services and booksellers.
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By Cathy Schieffelin4 days ago in Humor
Comments (10)
You wax so poetic, for a moment I got lost in a different time. So well done.
Awesome lines!!! Loved your surreal poem!!!1❤️❤️💕
Extremely well written, haunting and punchy at the same time 😁👍
Such a well crafted rhythm throughout! Very well done!
Creak and crick and snap and snick. Love that for the bones of the earth.
We only ever accrue it to give it away, I especially loved that line! Excellent work!
What a mystifying and yet quite magical tale you've woven within your poem. Wonderfully well done.
Incredible! I feel like there are many ways to interpret this, and would love to hear more of your thoughts ☺️
You write with both sophistication and depth, and clearly have a strong talent for rhythm and meter. But reading this poem makes me wish I had spent more time studying philosophy and world myth so I could better appreciate your underlying themes. Which is not to say that I have not spent considerable time on both, but just to say not nearly enough. There seem many ways of interpreting this poem from the gossamer puppet strings to the implied stasis in the face of (undesired?) change. And then you have the competing themes of tripartite soul and the ultimate declaration of being … I am. But like any piece of complex art, unpacking it means making assumptions which is just a slightly more complex version of taking a stab in the dark. Since the pic of the Orphic Egg references mythological beginnings while the poem harkens back to Plato’s belief regarding the nature of the soul, I wish now I had majored in Philosophy rather simply minoring. Damn, college was a long time ago! It would be a lot easier and use less space to simply ask - what does it mean or is it intended as a mystery much as life already is? I swear, I stopped trying to unpack Emily Dickinson a long time ago.
Amazing poem! The image is perfectly suitable for it. :)