to sustain the body until time leaves it behind

Gender

Points 25

Reviews 5

Tue Apr 01, 2025 4:43 am

flowersforplath says... · Tue Apr 01, 2025 4:43 am

After Ocean Vuong.

Every piece of art I see, I hold near and dear to my heart. I'm so grateful for what life has shown me. It is sweet, and simple, and beautiful.

[she/her]

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flowersforplath

Gender

Points 25

Reviews 5

Tue Apr 01, 2025 10:07 pm

flowersforplath says... · Tue Apr 01, 2025 10:07 pm

1.

there is love spreading out from my heart,
out through my fingertips, & distant across the prairie.

the mustard flowers send their runners out
& propagate, tucking into a warm yellow blanket.
the wind braids itself through their stems, gentle,
like fingers through a child’s hair,
& somewhere a window is open,
letting in the same breath that once touched me.
my love moves slow, stubborn, like the sun
dragging its heels through April.

you are not near, but still,
this is how I hold you.

[she/her]

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flowersforplath

Gender

Points 25

Reviews 5

Thu Apr 03, 2025 1:19 am

flowersforplath says... · Thu Apr 03, 2025 1:19 am

2.

some truths arrive late,
words spoken in hushed, percussive voices,
working slowly in the back of the larynx,
then with soft urgency.
names of old friends fall out of the front of the mouth,
as if they were quick-spat cherry pits.

I have not unlearned names,
not even when I’m ankle-deep in another season,
when the lilacs return like they always do
without asking permission.

there are things that stay:
your handwriting on a birthday card,
the way your laugh curved mid-sentence,
the uneven hem of the curtains you sewed
& how they still don’t quite meet in the middle.
there are roots in me, a trellis.

next time around, I will ask to speak to everyone
on earth & for everyone to tell me all about themselves
& for me to really, really enjoy it.
I will ask to be good company.

[she/her]

Quote

flowersforplath

Gender

Points 25

Reviews 5

Fri Apr 04, 2025 2:01 am

flowersforplath says... · Fri Apr 04, 2025 2:01 am

3.

some of us
are built from misremembered lullabies,
stitched into place by people
we can’t quite picture anymore.
still, our ribs hum
with old music,
& the stars burn quietly above us
like porch lights left on
just in case.

[she/her]

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Meshugenah

Gender

Points 3941

Reviews 488

Fri Apr 04, 2025 9:20 pm

Meshugenah says... · Fri Apr 04, 2025 9:20 pm

Spoiler

Basically everything about 3 I love, but "misremembered lullabies" is gorgeous.

***Under the Responsibility of S.P.E.W.***
(Sadistic Perplexion of Everyone's Wits)

Medieval Lit! Come here to find out who Chaucer plagiarized and translated - and why and how it worked in the late 1300s.

I <3 Rydia

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flowersforplath

Gender

Points 25

Reviews 5

Sat Apr 05, 2025 12:40 am

flowersforplath says... · Sat Apr 05, 2025 12:40 am

4.

washed in pigeon gray light,
& with the same blue green iridescence
that crests the morning,
starlings wake with the bugs,
wake with the rotation once again

& it all starts over.

I pour the coffee like a ritual,
same chipped mug, same second shelf.
the wind nudges a loose shutter,
soft insistence, a reminder that
everything here wants attention
but asks so little.

sometimes I wonder
if the world notices me in return.
not in the loud, remarkable way,
but in the quiet sense
that the light brushes my shoulder
not by accident.

maybe the earth turns & carries me
on purpose.

it feels like a mercy.
the plants stilt & bow to the seasons,
& so do I, dipping my hands in the familiar waters,
washing the marks of my baptism away.

[she/her]

Quote

flowersforplath

Gender

Points 25

Reviews 5

Sat Apr 05, 2025 9:38 pm

flowersforplath says... · Sat Apr 05, 2025 9:38 pm

5.

suppressed staccato
conversations
under the day-not-yet-broken
are punctuated by metallic clanging,
a rhythm not unlike mourning
in rehearsal.
the would-be-red of
cirrus streaks gathers breath
& bare feet on cold cement,
bending & darkening
as if weighted.

[she/her]

Quote

flowersforplath

Gender

Points 25

Reviews 5

Mon Apr 07, 2025 12:42 am

flowersforplath says... · Mon Apr 07, 2025 12:42 am

6.

in brief moments,
life becomes gossamery.

I no longer feel the days
plodding on.
there is just light on tile,
a wren in the gutter,
the hush between
two people who almost
say everything.

a breeze moves through
the curtains like a thought
I almost had; sweet & gone
before I name it.

[she/her]

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Liminality

Gender

Points 61171

Reviews 622

Mon Apr 07, 2025 11:29 pm

Liminality says... · Mon Apr 07, 2025 11:29 pm

Spoiler

Hey there! Lim here with some poetry comments for you.

4.
> I really like the way you write imagery. The colour descriptions "pigeon gray light" and "blue green iridescence" are so evocative.
> I love how this poem carves out the details of this intentional world. It has this quiet, focused atmosphere and you've done a great job of showing that through the descriptions.

5.
> This poem makes me think of people having a difficult conversation or maybe arguing quietly early in the morning. I think it's the line "mourning/ in rehearsal" that gives me that impression.
> I like how you use the clouds to convey the mood - this sort of anticipation of something about to occur.

6.
> This poem flows so smoothly!
> My favourite lines:

in brief moments,
life becomes gossamery.

I feel as though I know exactly the kind of light/weather/moment that this describes.

sweet & gone
before I name it.

This is a really nice ending to the poem that brings together both the ideas of 'fleeting moments' and 'good moments'.

Happy NaPo and keep writing!

she/her

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