What Are the Cares of a Bird?
Little Sparrow (bird) painting by Gail Chandler
By Exotic Hippie Queen © 5/6/2016
Close
thisclose.
His breath, hot and thick, a flaming cloud of Jack and menthol cigarettes, scorching my neck, a bird wilted by the blaze of sun.
Whisper
this quiet.
His heat on me, smothering messenger of what is to come.
Remember
that look
He gave me that day on the porch. No one saw but me. Fear stirred my soul.
Stop
his rough hands.
Skimming my trembly body. His push hard against me, force I hadn’t known.
Pull
fast away now.
Pounding heart. Pinned motionless, the struggle to stop him. useless.
Remember
those blue orchids,
wild birds I saw this morning,
all the U.S. presidents in order of their term,
the paisley wallpaper in gramma’s living room,
broken pencils…my favorite white shoes…daddy’s arms,
this must be science fiction.
remember anything,
remember everything,
remember how to forget this happened.
Hurts
oh, he’s hurting me.
Biting, his hand over my mouth, tears racing down my cheeks, salt and sweat mingling
in the misery, in the reign of misery, in the rain of misery.
Be still
it’s over.
Where is the God of my prayers
my whispered bedtime prayers,
Whisper to this little bird.
- Perfect Reunion for Lost Things - June 25, 2017
- What Are the Cares of a Bird? - May 7, 2016
My dear Amy, what a riveting poem to mark your first entry to this club of Exiles. I felt it all, the misery of betrayal in someone trusted, the forced control he took over your shaking soul. Your visuals were penetrating as I remember as a boy watching this madness forced upon one of my sisters by a demon in our house. Like a bird who wings are clipped, it can’t fly away, it’s grounded and at the mercy of man. I’m so sorry that a girl, woman has to be treated this way by a man. I am filled with disdain for such a beast who rules over a girl with threats of injury to her heart. Lost respect I have for any man who brutalizes a girl, woman. They deserve to be put away for a long time. Thanks for sharing Amy, but I must say, I felt pain and sadness through it all, you moved me, like a real poet can do. BrAVO
Very tense, emotional and well-written, Amy. Powerful ! Great impact for your first on TCE.
Welcome Amy, so nice to have you here, and I hope you enjoy the group and watch it grow. This is a dark and poignant piece, so eloquently stated in its dire circumstance. Rape is a brutal and heartless act of violence and here you’ve painted it from the victims mind, trying to placate the horror, the fear, the disgust. Nicely rendered and appreciated. Take care.
Hi, Amy (Exotic Hippy Queen). Welcome to the Creative Exiles. This is a very good poem that explores a number of different emotions. You describe a terrible situation that sadly too many women can relate to.
Some of us understand the collective guilt , the pain or the passion of all life experiences . This is a powerful message , Keep up the awesome writing and welcome to an awesome place !
That was painful to read, yet so well written. It is good to have you here among us. Welcome.
Hi Chris…..I’ve been replying all along here to comments on my poem through my email. I thought they would be posted here, but I guess that was a stupid thought. Hopefully, I have replied to and thanked all who commented, and all have received emails. From now on, I will reply here thru the site directly.
H Amy. Most sites like this now send out “no reply” emails in order to prevent spamming of their site. That’s why your emails didn’t post here. Nice to meet you and thanks for commenting on my comment to your poem.
Hi Amy,
Truly a sad piece, but filled with so much truth. You’ve written it in a way that makes the emotions tingle – so realistic. You’ve taken us to that lonely place so many know. Thank you.
Hi William, I’m so glad that I was able to spark your emotions. Thank you for reading and commenting.
That’s a damn good poem.
Thank you, Michael! I’ll take it!
Amy, I’ve linked your poem to my Facebook Page for Freelance Writers. https://www.facebook.com/cam8510/
Thank you so much, Chris!
A heart wrenching writing that I imagine to be about a child and as we know today so very real, yet unchanging. I have voiced my thoughts on this many times and I won’t here but it is a brave and good thing to always keep up awareness of this horrific crime that receives such minimal punishment in the legal system today.
Thank you, Jackie. I don’t know where that poem came from, as I have had no experience with this situation, but have since realized that it does, in fact, highlight a horrible crime that lives in the dark. Thank you for commenting!
Well written Amy. I love how you varied the line length and how you showed us certain images by your word placement. Jamie
Thank you so much, Jamie for reading and commenting. I appreciate it! Amy
Hi Amy.This is a great poem. Do you still want it included in the poetry book? If so, we all have to write a short bio and format our poems aligned left, single spacing, in Calibri Light font, 12 point and put in a word doc to be sent to Tony, who is our Publishing Consultant. John has approved the formatting process. If you want me to format it for you, I can do that, but you need to write a short bio and send it to me so I can include that in the word doc. Thank you, Amy.
Wow – sent chills up my spine and immediately dragged me against my will into the narrative. Such a balance of fear and aggressive anger……..