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| Peggy Vierra Link (1923-2004) Wash Day, Oil |
She finds a certain intimacy
in the washing of his things,
his soft blue woollen jumper,
his old grey cotton slacks, these
the clothes he died within.
She sniffs the jumper first, inhales him,
then gently submerges him in suds,
she is beguiled by wild emotions,
there is wire in her blood.
Her breath caught in deep excitement,
she scrubs away his scent,
from deep within and deep without he
the source of malcontent.
the source of malcontent.
Her labour brings with it vivid imagery,
of knife glistening in the sun,
of sharp surprise upon his face
as she with cruel twist of blade
his waywardness undone.
She bears the scars within her heart
of a woman truly sinned,
but cleansed her soul she pegs him out,
leaves him blowing in the wind.
Anna :o]
Margaret at Toads welcomes us with Artistic
Interpretations, that is ekphrastic poetry inspired by works of art, of which
she has chosen a fine selection (for us).
Cheers Margaret!
Also shared with the good folk at dVerse OLN. Cheers for hosting Grace.
Also shared with the good folk at dVerse OLN. Cheers for hosting Grace.
25 comments:
oh...evocative... and sounds like cleansing for a new start!
My goodness this is good!!
Not where I was expecting this to go... great story writing.
This is fantastic Anna. Really pulls the reader in and for me the sense that there ws something else in here was palpable before the reveal. Well crafted indeed.
Like Debi, I was caught buy surprise at the ending.
A literal twist in the narrative. Loved the beautiful metaphors used to describe an ugly, but often necessary act of humanity.
She seemed to love his scent almost as much as she had grown to loath it.
Sharp writing.
Luv the fact that this bit of writing is layered
Much love...
I enjoyed this wonderful description of what seems to be an act of intimacy and love, Anna, but twists at the end, like the knife. I love the way the poem turns on the line 'there is wire in her blood' and the rhyme in the next stanza makes it all the more murderous:
'Her breath caught in deep excitement,
she scrubs away his scent,
from deep within and deep without he
the source of malcontent'.
But those last two lines leave the reader wondering - it seems she still has some tenderness for him:
'but cleansed her soul she pegs him out,
leaves him blowing in the wind.
I'm thinking there are many, many ladies wanting to be able to do this. Now.yours has her chance and she won't ever stop doing this enoyable act of retribution. She should seek help though, this is consuming her.
Nice, nicely written with a clever surprise ending.
..
Way beyond a catharsis--this lady cut out the pain foisted on her--yet as a murderer, we still find time to overlook the morality and break into a chorus of he done her wrong-& got what he deserved; very clever layering indeed.
Now that is a twist! Very cleverly crafted. I find myself humming along with her as she "pegs him out, leaves him blowing in the wind"
This is a wild evil story Anna ~ Love that twist in the end ~
What a great twist! ...the ending leaves just enough to the imagination to be truly murderous.
Darkly sad of how pain leads to pain leads to pain and ...
But then, maybe I misunderstood.
Oh my... that was a dark ending...nice twist.
There's something stealthily humorous about this work of art. And I like the title too.
Dark, but beautifully written. A story within its lines.
Sometimes we do what we have to do. Where I could from it is said, we only kill those that need killin'. And there you have it.
This is most excellently dark... love it, and could also feel that it fitted the Tuesday prompt... somehow I didn't expect that knife coming up.
A peek into her shadowed soul. Painful in its beauty. Beautiful in its pain! Nicely penned, Anna!
Oh, outstanding!
Wow....heavy, beautiful, evocative of such darkness...and tension. Great poem!
Jane (Lady Nyo)
but cleansed her soul she pegs him out,
leaves him blowing in the wind.
Some unwanted elements deserve what they get. Great write Anna!
Hank
Wow, that was unexpected. I can feel her satisfaction as she leaves him blowing in the wind!
I so love how you had me thinking one way in the beginning of your poem and then totally different with the twist in the end. Yes, leave him blowing in the wind.
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