In the morning, the blemish appears.
Haughty mountains, snow-topped, hard as weapons.
Brave explorers dying in a violent wind.
The blemish brings with it
divorce,
financial ruin,
the sniggering of false friends who ride in your ears.
Blemishes through history:
the canker of Robespierre.
the pimple of Marie Curie.
the cold sore of Trostsky, as he folds papers into bullets,
himself the hapless one,
sitting in a chair with an antimacassar,
a revised edition with limited press run.
On the thankless mountain side, Sir Edmund Hillary
examines a blemish with gloved hands,
his visage cracked across the cheek in a broken mirror.
The sherpa sniggers, riding in his ear.
Upon return, parades,
dinners,
divorce,
disaster.
The appearance of the blemish betokens the icy marksman,
behind you there,
delivering the avalanche
dead center, mid-beat, shattering.
_______
Shay the poet is back!!! This is strong and amazing! I love the powerful metaphor that rises and descends throughout this brilliant poem! Spectacular my friend!!
ReplyDeleteSo good . The haughty mountains, the voices riding in one's ears (so apt!) And the downhill slide to a shattering close. Wow.
ReplyDeleteA frightening portrait of our lives and minds.
ReplyDelete"the sniggering of false friends who ride in your ears." great line. love the scale of this, the way blemishes are amplified in the mind. enjoyed the read.
ReplyDelete