Bitter Words
Bitter words lead to bitter moments, bitter endings, and unhappy memories….
The bitter taste still resides on my lips
A pungent stinging, acidic, and raw
The taste something old, metallic
Like an inescapable disease
It haunts my senses, day and night
No drink can cleanse my palate
Food is a momentary distraction
Always, I’m thinking about the past
The exact words a distant memory
But the intention constantly reminds
Rememberance intent on forgetting
All at once came everything and anything
Wretchedness holding court with misery
Vile thoughts materialized as venom
And when enough wasn’t enough
Angrily gave volume more substance
Fevered pitches descended into howls
Poetic poison declaring departure
Successful failing at any hint of retention
And then what was became nothing
How cynical was my savagery
The surgical dismemberment of time
Each moment distorted and inhospitable
My words now fall in silence
The echoes of better times quiet
Only reverberations of madness
A compact fit of angry aggression
Met soundly with a closing door
And the blandness of loneliness
What’s in a word
As a writer, I feel that the written word is the most powerful form of communication available. Yet, in a relationship with another human being, we don’t always have the luxury of writing things down for further discussion. We often find ourselves lashing out at our partners with a level of harshness that sometimes even we do not know the origin of. When those words are spoken, they cannot be recalled, deleted, or grammar-checked. This piece is poetic look at how words can lead to an ending but not an end. The memories of those moments often haunt people for a long time. People question themselves on trying to understand how words led to their loneliness. It’s a cautionary tale of sorts reminding everyone that listening to your partner instead of yelling at them will bring your to a resolution point instead of the breakup point.
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Yes indeed there is bitterness in words, as they say the tongue is a two sided sword. I have felt both sides in my life. Many regrets we have of words left unsaid, apologies, haste, poor decisions. In anger we lose all accord and sometimes cut off our noses to spite our faces. I grew up in a home filled with fighting words of angry parents pasts events. Why do we live in the past? I’ve struggled with my own demons, broken marriages, lost children along with monetary gains and assets. Nothing is more painful than the loss of LOVE, there is no price one can place on it’s loss. Many of us will grow old alone, become reclusive and live in our own thoughts, memories that’s all we have left. This poem was so real, I felt every verse. This line especially clinging to my soul. “The surgical dismemberment of time.” perfect fit,. Thank you for a marvelous work.
A profoundly regretful work of the rising of anger, un-tethered and launched into life at great loss. So nicely rendered my friend, with some really great phrasing and imagery, baring the bitter result of anger unleashed. great work.
I think your writing does show the consequences of bitter words of which we all have experienced sometime in our life.
Well done.