As a rule, I avoid writing poetry though I read more poetry than prose. I think it is because I read so much that I don't write more ... so much is great and mine tends to be mediocre. I am old school enough to prefer highly structured verse and I'd rather read something in sonnet form than free verse. Regardless, someone told me that as an English major, I should write poetry if only to show that I am unafraid of a literary form. So at the age of 35, having written my best poet 25 years earlier, I decided to stop being a coward. What to write about? Isn't some sort of break up poem almost obligatory? So I wrote one, 5 years after the fact. Here it is ... Obligatory Break Up Poem I am perfect. Precisely as you want me to be – Goddess in the kitchen, Sacred prostitute kneeling at your feet, Lady serving tea. Difficult now to remember How I filled myself with love for you lighter than the air. Love's buoyancy ... I imagined us, figures in a painting by Chagall, Floating to the ceiling anchorless in a kiss But now we are as firmly bound by gravitational laws As the chairs in which we sit. If you never found me in a dark corner of a smoky bar Shoved up against the wall as another man Shoved himself into me, it does not matter – Your imagination supplies Such scenarios and you see What you want to see. I am perfect. Precisely as you want me to be. Your wicked witch, Your belle dame sans merci. So I break your heart as you knew I would. From the first breath we breathed together, You said "You're going to leave me" Convinced I possessed such appetites As could not be contained in your bed. But when I was your girl, I never wanted to be with anyone else, Never was with anyone but you. Wore me down with the litany ... Accusations, mistrust, lack of faith. I cheated on you only with myself, Found my backbone, and when it Spoke to me, muffled at first By layers of muscle, sinew, and bone But grown louder with each slight, slur, insult ... It said, "I'd rather be alone Than with this Neanderthal" So I took the fall Out of love. Landed hard. Groped ground For bloody gobbets of meat. Pushed them back into my chest Packed the wound with cotton wool. Stood up. Brushed myself off. Baked all day. Cleaned the house. Invited you to tea To break your heart. Carefully. Politely. Not the way you broke mine. I should rant. I should scream. I should rage. I should smash each glass and break every plate. Raspberry preserves should bloody the walls. Tears of tea should stain the floor. But none of that. I am calm. I am perfect. Precisely as you expect me to be.
That was perfect, precisely what we would expect of you. Really, a fantastic job. Maybe you should write more. You said you enjoy poetry in a sonnet form. Have you ever written a sonnet? I have written 3 and I find that they are more difficult than forced rhyming poetry.
it is perfect. reminded me a lot of the relationship between my parents...so i connected with it. keep writing you are really good.
Thank you both so much for your words of encouragement. It means a lot to me. My voice had always been geared more toward expository prose and I am unused to putting my ego on the line with my poetry. However, I'll keep at it. Thank you once again. Sincerely, LL
That was one of the most amazing things I've read here Really, I LOVED it, I dont understand how you can be insecure of your poetry. I know this lady, I've been her.
Without wishing to sound like an echo, that was excellent. I really love this poem. The honesty really moved me. I find myself feeling for you. It's a wonderful piece of writing. Thanks for 'exposing' yourself for us. Please post some more of your writing. Peace, A.
