understand--
it will be a tricky business.
A ghost will not wear the dress you like.
She will ignore
the meal
the Merlot
and the Mozart.
A ghost does not believe in the future that you've planned.
To a ghost,
the future is feathers made of fog
on a bird that flies away before it is born.
A ghost will not wear your ring.
She will not bear your child, or even your touch.
She is an airy
indigo
butterfly
that can hurt you, and will.
_________
for Real Toads word list. I used "indigo" and "butterfly".
hard to let go of those ghosts because they'll somehow always stay perfect. :)
ReplyDeleteThe ghosts of my father are the ones I fear...
ReplyDeleteFair Warning- genius treatment!
ReplyDeleteWishing YOU
Aloha from Waikiki
Comfort Spiral
~ > < } } ( ° >
> < 3 3 3 ( ' >
Wow, Shay, this is great. I especially love the third stanza. Wonderfully done.
ReplyDeleteK
This is a delicate combination of moving parts, seemingly simple, but as intricate as an oriental carpet--perhaps one that has been thrown over a gaping hole above an abyss which one steps on to suddenly feel one's heels above one's head, falling. Last line is devastating.
ReplyDeleteThere is NO way anyone reading your poetry could ever become jaded, complacent ... you continue to surprise and delight. This is stellar ...
ReplyDeleteNow SHE is too cute halved and then halved again ;)jk haha...
ReplyDeleteWhat a non-compliant wisp of disappointment she is!
Love the words you chose to feature...ending on the sharp contrast of beauty in the fragile wing of indigo butterfly but the hurt she'll inflict...dark indeed.
Great write, Shay!!
Oh wow! This is mesmerizing as a cautionary tale. I love how you built your whole poem around the idea of an indigo butterfly. Everything expands around that image, and the last line falls like a guillotine on the neck of all who remain hopelessly hopeful.
ReplyDeleteA tricky business indeed!
ReplyDeleteFireblossom--I started to write, "I adore the 2nd stanza," but then I read the 3rd, and then the final one.
ReplyDeleteYou can take ANY subject and make it fascinating. ANYthing...
"the future is feathers made of fog
ReplyDeleteon a bird that flies away before it is born" Nuff said. Funny how ghosts "live in the moment"--not funny how much that hurts!
so there
ReplyDeleteshe will, sure enough.
ReplyDeleteI think you are right. Loving a ghost is risky business.
ReplyDelete" the future is feathers made of fog.....before it is born" - absolutely brilliant. Beautifully penned.
ReplyDeleteI don't believe in ghosts. Believed in this poem though, Mosk.
ReplyDeleteBeautifully written; I will heed the warning!
ReplyDeleteI suppose it is a tricky business to love a ghost, unless one is a ghost. Even then there are probably many challenges, depending on what you expect:~)
ReplyDeleteOn the other hand, many of us have experience those "ghost" relationships. The ones we thought were real,but turned into "indigo butterflies" that stung!
The speaker knows he/she is sharing heart-preserving information but also knows the reader will not take heed. We know this because of the way the last line is worded: Not only can she hurt you, but she will ... because you will go after her no matter what "I" say. The speaker knows exactly what is going to happen but can do nothing about it.
ReplyDeleteFavorites:
"the future is feathers made of fog
on a bird that flies away before it is born"
"She is an airy
indigo
butterfly
that can hurt you, and will"
A butterfly warning. I love it!! So much to love in this...the whole poem.. :)
ReplyDeleteFireblossom!
ReplyDeleteFirst of all, you had me at "Before loving a ghost." Seriously.
And then, this:
"She will not bear your child, or even your touch."
This is a haunting, beautiful, somehow hallowed piece. Perfect.
de
whimsygizmo.wordpress.com
"feathers made of fog" just love that. I was thinking I wanted a ghost... no commitment no hard to please pallet. Then I got to the last line. :/ Damn.
ReplyDeleteI always covet every piece of poetry and prose that you write Shay....I want to hold it as my own and never let it go!
ReplyDeletethe future is feathers made of fog - how sad and poignant. what a wonderful poem
ReplyDeleteJust perfect.
ReplyDeletecan't believe i missed this one!
ReplyDeletelove the entire poem!!!
♥