ex sighs

Cut this hope from my heart
so that only love remains –
without crushing need
to hold;
to have.

Strip my world of want,
and let me breathe
through scar.

Empty my soul of blood
so that a word, mayhap,
cannot wound.

Catch my passion
as it dries;
as it dies.

~ ~ ~

Hope and Love
05/25/05 by vella_ms
tightly interwoven... hard to have one without the other. great job, impster. you know i love your schtuff. time for another, please.

mention
05/25/05 by Anonymous
mentioned in todays reviews

Searing
05/25/05 by LadyJeanne
I marvel at your ability to capture the 'completeness' of a complicated set of emotions, and express it simply, yet with such rich imagery. Very well done. I share the sighs, sweets, and the wish to ease the pain. Thank you. LJ

*Sigh
05/25/05 by Honey123
Your poetry is like a hand that reaches in and grabs at my inner being. You words always touch me. Great job, Imp ~Honey

why does pain...
05/25/05 by Belegon in Southern California
...make for such beauty? Because we have to get this out of us before it eats our hearts to dwindled nubs that fetally quiver when touched...pity those who can't let it out. I do.

This one....
05/25/05 by Samandiriel
is the best...not that the others sucked but the sheer symplicity captures the bigger picture. I didn't have the heart to bomb it...it's too good. I'll wait to bomb your next story before the other trolls do.

wow
05/25/05 by Jennifer C
that one hit me hard! It's amazing how much beauty can come from so much pain. Great work, thanks. ~ J

Exquisite ex sighs...
05/25/05 by Wanton Vixxxen
of both pain and poetry were expressed here. Imp, you have a way with your words that cut straight down to the marrow of the bone before we realize we're bleeding! As per your usual, an emotionally wretching piece flowed from your pen. Superb job! Vixxx

Beautiful
05/25/05 by AppleBiter in USA
I loved it . . . nicely done.

WoW
05/26/05 by ~hellbaby~
Seems like it has all been said, it's like the pain of losing a child thats what I think of when Iread this Thanks

Deadly limits to love
05/27/05 by cantdog in admiration
The second strophe-- especially hard-hitting.

just....just...just.......
05/27/05 by dcpoet44
brutally excellent. all else has been covered........nicely done......don

Pain...
11/27/05 by Bill Dada
...like this doesn't sigh, it screams. In the right hands those screams are fuel for art. Apparently your hands are the right hands. A very powerful write. ty,bd

Exit 7

driving from desire to duty
vision obscured by the distortion
of liquid hope as it again
escapes
softening the crust of dried futility
and the salty taste of tomorrow
on unkissed lips
holding on to life
by nothing stronger than the
surface tension
of a tear

~ ~ ~

I wasn't
01/09/05 by Tathagata
sure about this till the last line. It makes the whole thing work. I think a few commas would help with some pauses... otherwise I liked it alot. Amazing how much can be said in so few words. Thank you

impressive~
01/09/05 by My Erotic Tale
astounding~ Impressive~ Moving~ I agree, the short stack of words send you on a mental journey far far away. excellent poem~

Deeply moving
01/09/05 by minsue
and beautifully descriptive, Imp

Damn...
01/09/05 by jthserra
one of the best I have read of yours. This is the first that drew me to comment, but wow, nicely done. Concise but stark, you grabbed my interest and then took my breath with your closing lines: "holding on to life by nothing stronger than the surface tension of a tear" inspiring and yes... impressive. Nicely done. jim : )

woah
01/09/05 by Liar
Such a tense, dense write. The last lines are just perfect: "holding on to life by nothing stronger than the surface tension of a tear"

yes, impressive
01/09/05 by annaswirls
The words of this poem are tense and intense, beautifully written... (I cannot believe I am going to say this, as I struggle so much myself) but you might consider changing the line breaks.

Well I agree with all the comments, but
01/11/05 by foehn
nobody mentioned the *title*. This is a *great* short poem, but ye gods, didn't you get shivers up your spine when that title came to you? It works so powerfully for me ... am I off-track? I'm re-examining the way I title things. Maybe I'm just getting weird in my old age.

"...salty taste of tomorrow..."
01/12/05 by vella_ms
perfection. loved this poem. your words convey so much in such a short piece. kudos gorgeous.

Touching
01/15/05 by in NJ USA
and deeply moving.

This gets the wheels turning.....
01/15/05 by sack in USA
probably purposefully vague, there are many possible scenarios: A mistress going to work after sex, Exit 7 is her work exit. A newlywed girl leaving her husband after their first night as a married couple, again Exit 7 is the work exit. A couple about to separate/divorce, this was their last night together. Exit 7 is the exit to the woman's new home. A lesbian couple that cannot stay together for various reasons, one of the women is getting a job in a new state, Exit 7 is the exit for the new job. Of course, we don't know if the protagonist is DEFINITELY a woman, but since a woman is writing a poem, I'm assuming a woman is suggested here. Good job, Impressive! (Perhaps I should have made this a poll?)

Suprising Strength
07/24/05 by ~hellbaby~
This is wonderful, the line 'nothing stronger than the surface tension of a tear' grabbed me,it is so powerful. thanks

Your name here
08/28/05 by Bill Dada
Every word mattered and worked magic. The last four lines made the elephant disappear in front of a live audience.

Impressive
02/20/07 by angelicminx in Kentucky
Once again you moved me. Thank you! ~Minx

Memorize Me

stilled life in darkness poised
repose under the raspberry blush
of a veiled aperture

dawn's kiss parts draped night
bringing day in diffusion

pierced by the shudder speed
of stilled loving;
a shutter sped on vocal lengths

breathless interlude captured;
freeze framed in naked contrast
and ambient wonder

tastes of shadow and sunlight
on sheets and skin
in the peppermint blink of mind's eye

forget not
the monochromatic simplicity
seen through passion's lens
on a stolen Sunday morning

~ ~ ~

Lovely
11/22/05 by vella_ms
how i know that feeling! wonderfully conveyed. Keep it up! v~

*
11/22/05 by Anonymous
I really liked this. Thanks. Curiouswife

no many poems about cameras....
11/22/05 by sack in USA
this one was brilliant!

not many poems about cameras....
11/22/05 by sack in USA
this one was brilliant! (and you deserved 100, not 50, my mistake!)

~
11/23/05 by Bill Dada
In the 'peppermint blink of mind's eye' I gave it a 5. ty,bd

Captured
11/24/05 by hugo_sam in Lost in the '70's
What a wonderful expression of the capture of that moment: fulfilment and satisfaction. Well Done

well done......
11/26/05 by dcpoet44
even though the title wasn't an eye grabber, the rest of sure did.

I love...
11/27/05 by Belegon in SoCal
the way you use monochromatic and hint at black and white while also using things like "raspberry" & "peppermint" that hint at color...

Lovely
11/27/05 by yui
"stilled life in darkness poised" I love that line. It has the bones of something great in it. Well done!

~
11/27/05 by sophia jane
"peppermint blink" is an excellent phrase! Another great poem

Adore the Sentiment
08/11/07 by lucky-E-leven
Artfully told from the eye of a camera; it's the perfection of the moment that makes me want to never forget a single detail. You captured that nicely here. I'd be happy for the chance to Memorize you.

Cusp

There is love
as foundation for the passion.
That much is certain
as I soar in the radiance of her smile.

There is trust
as extension of that love.
My soul is naked
yet I fear not this vulnerability.

There is hunger
as her vicarious touch
is carried through my own hands
and mine through hers.

There is respect
for divergent thought
and convergent desire
on the cusp of omneity.

There is thirst
for a taste of tomorrow.
The promise of delight
and the delight of promise.

There is hope
for the exquisite someday
when the fire in her eyes
overpowers the barriers in her mind.

~ ~ ~

Illustration courtesy of the inimitable rhinoguy

~ ~ ~

Beautiful
11/23/04 by vella_ms
gorgeous imp. ethereal...left me smiling. more, imp...please *hugs* v~

Taken Away ~
11/23/04 by LilDarlin in ~Tenn
What a lovley poem. I was taken away, swept, carried, submerged into another world. Just loved the your wording. The imagery was silky smooth. More Please~~

the last stanza really got me....
11/23/04 by sack in USA
and now I have a huge lump in my throat. Bravo!!

Very nicely presented
11/23/04 by tungtied2u
and each piece a building block on the previous stanza. Wonderful word choices , and sentiment I can share. You got me.

All trembly
11/23/04 by cantdog in a good mood now
Touching, Imp.

~
11/23/04 by WickedEve
Your poem is mentioned on the new poems review thread on the poetry board. *No thermometer rating

Why does this one seem so kinky to me?
11/23/04 by flyguy69
Are my glasses steamed over, or is there some smoldering eroticism here? Very nice, imp!

Impressive~
11/23/04 by My Erotic Tail
flowed like a soothing water fall trickling from wisdom pool to tranquil wisdom pool to tiny rippled pool...grin great poem!

Sultry passion .. wow
11/24/04 by Du Lac in usa
I loved this.. walks the reader from the innocent love to the depths of all that we dream and hope for to be real...loved that last stanza thank you for writing this!

I am a total sucker
11/26/04 by matriarch
for voluptuous, sensuous, moving language, and this has them all. It gathered me, drew me in, and made me feel everything you feel. Incredible piece of writing.

Wonderful
11/27/04 by in Joisey
The affirmation of love and life, the joy of the present, the anticipation of the future. Very touching.

Wasted

Tokin' female -
boilermaker bitch trippin'
over salty tongues of tequila
basted breath; the worm
squirmin' as kamikaze kisses
rock the cash bar.

Liquor, lick 'er,
never been sicker
of trash talkin' bicker
in a cold cunt's daiquiri dreams

The elder bury whine
'neath the burning blunts,
and a slower gin fizzles
through the crushed ice tease.

In toxic, hated prisons
the bong blows peyote prisms
across fade dead to black
and blue bawled reign bows.

Can a bliss haze
blanket mimosa memories
until tomorrow is burned
out and blasted back
to fresh fleshed free fall
fucking?

Want not the wasted knot
of a weed whirled whore -
strung out hash gash
drifting through a long lost life.

~ ~ ~

Hi 5....
08/31/05 by Anonymous
This work flowed well to me. So many visuals came into view. You weaved for thoughtfull poem in a very clever way. sandspike
~
08/31/05 by sophia jane
I felt a little wasted reading that. :) Great job, Imp.
Great job
08/31/05 by Anonymous
I loved the clever word-play! Fly
Wasted Indeed
08/31/05 by Bill Dada
Infuckingcredible!
~~
09/01/05 by LeBroz in NY - too far from Atlanta
Remember that feeling well; insightful delightful but oh the morning after; no wonder they call it wasted.
Hey...
09/01/05 by Anonymous
You're poem gave me a hangover. Not crapola. Kudos.
Haven't a clue
09/01/05 by lil_elvis in NJ
what you could be talking about. Can I sell you this bridge? Havin a flashback. Brilliant stuff, imp
Reeling...
09/04/05 by logophile
from the power and intensity of your words. Nicely done - the images and the alliterations blend so magically here. Brava!
wow!
11/20/05 by cloudy in Alabama
the new twist of the words just blows me away. Powerful
Intense
11/20/05 by hugo_sam in Lost in the '70's
and powerful with despair and longing. Well woven
Excellent
11/20/05 by vella_ms
play on words. "...elder bury whine..." and many others ...still with a point easily seen. Loved it. v~