Thursday, 7 July 2011

Out of The Woods

I will never leave the woods. Not the ones inside. I live in this house with big windows. Windows which might as well be walls. They creak. Not like branches. Like trees. Unshiftable. I strip back the bark of my skin. Day by day trapped up here in the canopy. Nothing brings me down. The static crackles like leaves. In the night. Inside me. When the police come and the radio signal fails. They step outside. Doors which might as well be walls. I try to come down. I see the penny. In the shop. I ask is that yours. But the words are crumpled. Mixed up with ash churches stories and supermarkets. I don’t make sense outside. The woman picks the penny up and hands it to me. Keep away. I put the penny in my bag. In my dreams it rolls from her hand to mine. An endless loop. A slot machine gone crazy. Spilling out pennies I will never count up and use. This is not sleep. It is darkness. Stuck in the roots branches and leaves. Messed up and sticky. Every penny is a day lost. A friend lost. A word lost. Hour by hour it crushes me. Like a mechanical jaw. I will never be out of the woods.
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31 comments:

  1. Anonymous7 July 2011 at 07:41

    Beautiful description of the landscape inside and certain simple lines stand out more because of the rich description of surrounding events...Keep away.
    and also the lines...This is not sleep. It is darkness.

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  2. Unknown7 July 2011 at 08:16

    Some of the imagery, Jae, is frighteningly accurate. Your way with words is unmatched. At the end, I felt the weight of your world on my chest ~ literally.

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  3. Maude Lynn7 July 2011 at 11:15

    This is really well done.

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  4. Dee Martin7 July 2011 at 13:20

    I have missed your voice :)

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  5. Poets United7 July 2011 at 17:50

    Cool! This is such a tough style. You are skilled Jaerose.

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  6. Anonymous7 July 2011 at 18:50

    Thank You Jaerose for stopping by. It was a pleasant suprise to read you. Liked your short crisp lines and the vivid picture you paint.

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  7. J Cosmo Newbery8 July 2011 at 04:15

    I feel vaguely said after this. Very emotive. Is there hope?

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  8. Jae Rose8 July 2011 at 04:18

    Thank you Jeanne..

    It can be a heavy world..I hope the weight has passed now..thank you Kim..

    Thank you Mama Zen..

    I've missed you too Dee - glad to see you again..

    Thanks Poets United..glad to be attached to your site..

    Thank you Swapna..

    Thank you J Cosmo..let's hope..

    Jae

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  9. Anonymous8 July 2011 at 09:33

    This is absolutely awesome! You are an amazing writer, I aspire to write so well

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  10. Craig Smith8 July 2011 at 10:57

    Gives whole new meaning to the phrase "Not out of the woods."

    Well done!

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  11. Kate8 July 2011 at 13:34

    ... and yet, somehow the woods you sketch are so very inviting. (Sometimes the canopy is such a temptingly safe place). Love it, Jae.

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  12. Amanda8 July 2011 at 14:11

    The woman picks the penny up and hands it to me. Keep away.

    Ugh. Had a similar experience the other day. It hurts. But not as much as I thought it would.

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  13. Altonian9 July 2011 at 03:59

    Harrowing, as almost always, but so beautifully written and expressed.

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  14. Linda Jacobs9 July 2011 at 05:05

    "I strip back the bark of my skin" is my favorite line. The undressing of our souls!

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  15. Jae Rose9 July 2011 at 07:20

    Thank you very much mindlovemisery..

    Thanks Craig..good to see you..

    It can be Kate..you're right..at least in the canopy you have an aerial view..

    Never gets easier does it Amanda..the more it happens perhaps..the more you feel it..handshake back to you..

    Thank you -as always - Altonian..

    Thanks very much Linda..

    Jae

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  16. Nara Malone10 July 2011 at 07:36

    A creative depiction of the cost of letting ourselves get stuck in our nightmares. Lovely, Jae. Your skill with descriptive details leaves me in awe.

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  17. annell410 July 2011 at 08:25

    Dear Jae I always love to read where you mind goes, almost like a fairy tale, and as in fairy tales there is something frightening... and yet I want to know that there is a happy ending for the fairy princess living high in the canopy or the tower. All that you spin is gold!

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  18. Jae Rose10 July 2011 at 08:59

    Thank you Nara..very kind..

    Thank you Annell..you can climb up my hair into the castle..a cup of tea is always waiting..

    Jae

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  19. annell410 July 2011 at 10:19

    I was wondering... Out of the Woods, was that a song in the Wizard of Oz? I can't remember the words, but I think the tune is going over and over in my head?

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  20. Serena Shay10 July 2011 at 10:26

    Very dream-like Jae. You brought me to that place that's only attainable in the darkest of nights and oddest of dreams. Excellent!

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  21. Christine10 July 2011 at 10:55

    This is not sleep. it is darkness. Fantastic line here.

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  22. LeiffyV10 July 2011 at 13:55

    Oooo, a spooky friendly voice from your past... ooooo!

    This piece made me turn on "My Domain" and play it at loud volumes. You have that sprite/druid epic thread weaving through this piece, as if you can't help but phase in and out from "the real world" and the one with substance.

    Another great piece, Jae! I'll have to catch up soon!

    By the by, I canceled my hosting so follow the link on SS.

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  23. Lisa10 July 2011 at 16:05

    Amazing piece. I absolutely love your writing style.

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  24. The Brave10 July 2011 at 21:18

    Powerful stuff. I felt the fear and anxiety in every word.

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  25. Old Egg10 July 2011 at 22:03

    A dream like state has been mentioned but it is more than that. It seems as though nothing adds up anymore... even that penny! All your readers hope for an answer, a road out, a brave face, a smile to combat the fears but every time you beat them back with such a negativity that it is us that are crushed. Meanwhile your character swims against the current as usual splashing us in the face. Mournfully magnificent!

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  26. Jae Rose11 July 2011 at 04:10

    There's probably all sorts of remembered songs in there Annell..I shall play the song you sent thank you..

    Hope you got back from that place..thanks Serena..

    Thank you Christine..

    My inner druid..maybe me inner Ewok..scuttling in the leaves..have you abandoned your web page..hope not..shall check the SS link..thank you Leiffy..

    Thank you Lisa...

    Thank you The Brave..

    Ah, I hope J doesn't splash water in your face OldEgg..at least not in malice..many thanks as ever..

    Jae

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  27. Abigail Bunting12 July 2011 at 15:02

    'Every penny is a day lost. A friend lost. A word lost.'

    Lost...the way the narrator is lost in the trees of her mind. The penny was to be her bridge to normality, but instead causes people to push her away.

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  28. Anonymous12 July 2011 at 16:20

    Jae, you did something unique with the prompt, personifying the woods. And your style of writing, the peeling bark, the static "crackling like leaves," is at once frightening and fascinating. Your writing is a whole different world into which I enter humbly, whistling a happy tune... Amy

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  29. Jae Rose13 July 2011 at 04:49

    Yes indeed Abigail...all pennies deserve the chance to be picked up though..just in case...

    I like that happy tune..it gets up to the canopy you know..thanks Amy..

    Jae

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  30. rallentanda13 July 2011 at 08:48

    The woods are bad news..best set up camp at the beach..fewer problems.

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  31. Jae Rose14 July 2011 at 06:42

    Good idea rallentanda ;)

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