Indigo

It sits there like a photograph,
a still life painted
in the corners of my mind.
Leaning closer, I brush aside the cobwebs
and taste the colours on my fingertips;
remember the smell
of fresh-mown grass on a summer’s evening.
Those were the nights when I would
watch the watercolour sunset
fast-forward into grey mist.

Static.
Adjust my mind, clear the picture –
I step outside.

The night is thick and warm, my skin is pale
in the twilight shadows of an indigo pool.
I break the seal on perfection
making the stars shiver,
sliding beneath the water without a sound.
And the place I remember most,
fragmented by half-formed thoughts,
slips from my hands like a dream
and ripples away
in the non-existent breeze of time

Comments & reviews · 14
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User avatar
MothNBone
Review

Hello Hello, I hope you dont mind me popping in a quick review. To start I know you might not see this nor change an almost 20-year-old work However I hope to still share my thoughts. For an older work might I say this is very underrated and should get more love. Both the energy and imagery in this work were breathtaking almost gothic feeling. I don't know why but it feels like something that would be put in the prologue for a grim romantic thriller.

Overall there is one line I would change ever so slightly." I break the seal on perfection" The on doesn't feel quite right perhaps something like " I break the seal of perfection" However that also feels a bit off as I am no professional.

As always I hope you going well wherever you are. Keep writing and remember to drink water!

User avatar
kittywizard000 Comment

This is super beautiful do you think I can use this in my story if I give you credit?

User avatar
kelsey99
Review

It sits there like a photograph,
a still life painted
in the corners of my mind.
Leaning closer, I brush aside the cobwebs
and taste the colours on my fingertips;
remember the smell
of fresh-mown grass on a summer’s evening.
Those were the nights when I would
watch the watercolour sunset
fast-forward into grey mist.

Static.
Adjust my mind, clear the picture –
I step outside.

The night is thick and warm, my skin is pale
in the twilight shadows of an indigo pool.
I break the seal on perfection
making the stars shiver,
sliding beneath the water without a sound.
And the place I remember most,
fragmented by half-formed thoughts,
slips from my hands like a dream
and ripples away
in the non-existent breeze of time


Great poem:)

User avatar
Matt Bellamy
Review

Need it be said again? This is excellent. You describe everything so beautifully, your use of imagery is great - watercolour sunset, tasting colours on your fingertips...Also, I like the way you made the change of scene a separate, short stanza. Great work.

Only one suggestion: Change the title.

Only one description: Beautiful.

Great images. Great wording. Great feel. Great job.

User avatar
Jasmine Hart
Review

This is really beautiful Bubbles. Kind of feel like I've come out of a trance after reading that...

I love;

"Leaning closer, I brush aside the cobwebs
and taste the colours on my fingertips;'

and

"in the twilight shadows of an indigo pool."

and

"the non-existent breeze of time".

I wish I could be more helpful, but I think I'm in love with this...amazing.

User avatar
CK Lynn
Comment

Wow, I really liked it, especcially all the wonderful imagery and emotions. Two thing would make it better: 1. Abetter title (this one sounds like skinny-dipping, no offense) and 2. Punctuation.

User avatar
Chevy
Comment

this IS a good poem--why i cant write like you...i may never know.

User avatar
bubblewrapped
Comment

"Ripples" is good...Thanks for your suggestions. I used "Indigo" when I posted this on Fiction Press, which seemed to go down well. I'll have to keep thinking though, as I have yet to find a title that seems to fit to me. I'm very fussy with titles, LOL. Sometimes I write for a title, other times I fuss over them until I get it just right...I guess this is going to be one of those times. :oops:

User avatar
Firestarter
Comment

Midnight Swim is a good title. You could use 'Ripples', I like that one.

Midnight Swim fits it very well, actually. I think it would be good for this poem.

The description in this poem was the best overall. Very good and thorough, I love it.

User avatar
bubblewrapped
Comment

Thanks for your comments, I'm glad you enjoyed it. Does anyone have any title suggestions? I think "Midnight Swim" is kinda mundane but I was in a hurry at the time and just tacked it on...any ideas would be greatly appreciated.

User avatar
Firestarter
Comment

I'm not a fan of poetry, but I read this and for once, I was really impressed and engrossed by a poem.

I can't comment on it much, I'm nothing of a poet, but it sounds and reads excellently. This was really really good.

User avatar
Nate
Review
Nate wrote a review · Thu Nov 25, 2004 6:45 pm

Wow...

This is excellent. Your structure and descriptions are flawless, and there are so many lines here that are just plain awesome; my favorite being "in the twilight shadows of an indigo pool." And you capture the scene just right...

This is now my favorite poem. Anywhere.

Positively, absolutely superb.



I exist as I am, that is enough
— Walt Whitman