You can lose the colored ball that rolls under the fence and into the weeds.
You can lose the puppy you slept with, the blanket, the bed, the parents as well.
You can lose your shoes when the roommate stretches them,
lose your virginity and barely remember it,
lose your bestie, your internship, your single room, your shine.
You can lose a husband or wife, that bastard, that bitch.
You can lose your tolerance, your keys, your court case, your kids.
You can lose yourself and wonder how in the hell.
You can lose and not be able to let it go.
You can lose your shit, or sigh and say, "oh well."
You can lose your composure when you see how far you fell.
You can lose the booze, the dope, the sex, the waste.
You can lose the name you started with and choose another one
that doesn't have the sting and shame, the stopper and the bung.
You can lose the demon and shame the devil.
You can lose who you weren't and gain who you are,
no matter how unexpected, how hard, how glorious, how far.
Your soul's the same, untouched after all,
waiting in the weeds with the vagabond ball.
_____
my attempt at "a little repetition" for dverse.
WOW! If this doesn't make folks straighten up and fly right ... nothing will. (the vagabond ball for the pup who's still there.) Great write, Shay.
ReplyDeleteI added a few labels to my post lest folks start to worry about my sanity ....
This is absolutely stellar writing, Shay! Wow! I especially resonate with; "You can lose who you weren't and gain who you are, no matter how unexpected, how hard, how glorious, how far." Yes!❤️❤️
ReplyDeleteI especially love the last four lines.
ReplyDeleteDirect, hardhitting, uncomfortably close to home yet satisfyingly close to the arterial flow of blood. One of your poems I have most enjoyed Shay, and one where the enforced repetition does not feel enforced at all.
ReplyDeleteThe repetition works so effectively here--and there is such a powerful flow to this. A whirlwind ride of a poem with a great closing message.
ReplyDeleteWhen I read this last night, I was struck by how much there is to lose, and yet how in the end all the things lost are part of who you become--like the old saying about the sculptor releasing what's hidden in the stone on chip at a time. I especially like the way you use such clean, real and visceral details along with the repetition--for me that's what makes this work. The ball at beginning and end seems the most poignant one, going back to the child in the "stone" of its born life, and where the journey takes it.
ReplyDeleteOH I loved the details, the specific forms of loss, the anticipation as it built up to me to the profound ending that you delivered, coming back full circle!
ReplyDelete*And you can lose your health, and be at the very edge, looking over.
ReplyDeleteThis is strong Shay, intimately relatable, and very sobering. Remarkably well written my friend — bravo!
Shay, I love the way you brought it all back to the ball in the weeds. Perfect.
ReplyDeleteI love how much there is to lose... and still there is that hope that there is something left (unless you are Dr. Faustus)
ReplyDeleteI like your comparison of a soul with a colorful ball that has rolled under the fence.
ReplyDeleteI love the circling back - the childhood ball brings the innocence of childhood with it. There's a great sense of strength and hope here.
ReplyDeleteI like how your anaphora of losses concludes - no matter what, you can't lose your soul.
ReplyDeleteThis is utterly exquisite, Shay. I love the punchy truth in your words. And yet this is also so deeply reassuring, in that there is always a gain in a loss even if you don't see it at first. I needed to read this today. So many good lines. My favourites:
ReplyDelete"You can lose the name you started with and choose another one
that doesn't have the sting and shame, the stopper and the bung.
You can lose the demon and shame the devil."
The whole of the third verse and the last two lines and how they tie in with the beginning is just wonderful <3
Wow. I saw myself in every line. That speaks of a theme so vast and universal, yet so personal, that only someone truly evolved could possibly have written it.
ReplyDeleteFlipping amazing.
ReplyDeleteyes! i love this! too many great lines to quote, but one line stands out for me "You can lose yourself and wonder how in the hell" thats the thing that i am always losing, and the question is always "how?" how do i keep losing the thing i treasure the most? this is so well written shay.
ReplyDelete