Empty, or: Broken

Poetry Partners #44

A poem by Saint Gaona of ‘Saint it so’

Looking in the mirror,
carving a smile out of the broken promises, watered down dreams.
Unable to relate to the reflection , feeling like an out of body experience, experiment for their sick pleasure.
Your body a burden to your soul,
your soul a burden to your mind,
your mind a burden to your heart. They can no longer function in synchronicity.
All of them too damn stubborn, pointing fingers to fault one another.

~ Empty

Saint Gaona: https://saintitso.wordpress.com/

‘Mare, or: Reflection’, a poem by ben Alexander of ‘The Skeptic’s Kaddish’

Written: Oct. ’20

I wade in; I float near
Not myself- who's that there?
Can't be me; won't free me
Else, I'd drift out to see
            No windows- no wind blows
            Stale thoughts heave in death throes
            This place's strange faces
            Fill the spaces tightly

Swift pacing, mind racing
Dreams fleeted yet chasing
Depleted, now seated,
Truth meted to me
            In pieces, heart ceases
            As time's s~l~o~w~flow~increases
            Mirroring their familiar
            Conciliar decree

Stern strangers, deranged- Or?
Portending no danger to
An ending upending their
Unbending decree
            As my eyes recognize them
            And my selfs humanize them
            I realize now 
            that the stranger
            in my mirror
            is me

Note

Usually, I write a new poem inspired by every Poetry Partner of mine, but this time, upon reading the intense poem that Saint Gaona shared with me, my mind immediately went back to ‘Mare, or: Reflection’, which I wrote ~1.5 years ago. This poem of mine feels to me the truest response I have to offer to Saint Gaona’s powerful piece up above.

Let’s write poetry together!

When it comes to partnership, some humans can make their lives alone – it’s possible. But creatively, it’s more like painting: you can’t just use the same colours in every painting. It’s just not an option. You can’t take the same photograph every time and live with art forms with no differences.
–Ben Harper (b. 1969)

Would you like to create poetry with me and have a completed poem of yours featured here at the Skeptic’s Kaddish? I am very excited to have launched the ‘Poetry Partners’ initiative and am looking forward to meeting and creating with you… Check it out!