The post is called Dorothea
1531 E
She stands
Blue
Slightly rusted
I sit and look at her
Smile a little
Though that’s a stretch
He asks for foil
Jumps
Begs
This is not Kansas
Not really
People smile
Junk nod
On the yellow road
I bang my head
On the bread
Shelf
But it does not take me home
Or away from home
I erase all messages
There is nothing anyone can say
Not really
I am the cause
The effect
And the lack of solution
Nobody else is implicated
In this demise
I clutch onto Alice
Scour around for a Toto
Listen to the foil rustle
Upstairs
My tin man
No flesh
All ribs and leg bones
Running
Running
We wear down our shoes
Running to nowhere
Smiling at posts
Easier than waking up
Though we are wide awake
Inside
Behind the eyes
Inside the heads
So full they’re empty
Lacking the courage to feel our hearts
Thump
Slump
To the ground
We stand like posts
Rusting
Decaying
Blue.
"Lacking the courage to feel our hearts.." so beautiful!
ReplyDeletePowerful, Jae!
ReplyDeleteI hope you don't stand and stare at Dorothea for too long that you in turn, rust, decay Jae.
ReplyDelete'Heads so full they're empty'
Some great lines in this piece.
I hope all is well, or going as well as can be expected in your world.
powerful piece Jae. Such wonderful put words.
ReplyDeleteThank you Janie..all lions find their courage though..eventually..
ReplyDeleteThank you very much Laurie..
As well as can be expected thank you DayDreamer..for j that's ok..and too cold to sit and stare at Dorothea for too long..she's no soldier..(or maybe she is ;).. thank you..
Thanks very much Sheilagh..
This is a gut punch, Jae. Powerful, powerful stuff. You are so good at this. So good at weaving, deceiving, retrieving, conceiving. You are an artist.
ReplyDeleteDiscarded tinfoil, crumpled, tinged, makes my heart stop, blood run cold; because I both understand and cannot fathom its allure. Not a fan of the tin man. Or of that which leads to turning blue. Have seen it from the outside. Ripped my heart from within my chest as the heart in that chest s-l-o-w-e-d-w-a-y-d-o-w-n.
And now, I want to know all that is to know about Alice. I think I have misunderstood her for too long.
Maybe Alice is at the bottom of the foil..she did after all choose to drink..to eat..what was laid out before her..the joy of Alice though is that she remains a child..so her decisions are perhaps one of innocence and naivety..live too long around tin men and cowardly lions and i'm not sure that still applies..or is that just what a grown up should say..maybe the cold truth is that when you no longer believe there is a better world behind the mirror you try and jump through anything shiny..sad..to think..though..that all that's ever reflected back is your own face..
ReplyDeleteT-h-a-n-k Y-o-u Kim.. x
So full they’re empty ..
ReplyDeleteah ! there's so much this one line makes me think and feel sad about .. we are so empty indeed ...
Both Alice and Dorothy(ea) have a certain gutsy fighting spirit that will surely rub off on you. Mind you the people (and others) they associate with are a bit suss! But enough of the prompts or is it props? The most important thing to your readers is to be mesmerized by you word power and imagery that once again does not fail. You have a gift with words to stimulate our perception of your world and we can but admire this work.
ReplyDeleteLacking the courage to feel one's heart gives the foil infinite appeal. Or maybe it's when one has trouble facing what one finds in that heart that the trouble begins.
ReplyDeletePoor Alice. Poor us.
There is power in these words !!!
ReplyDeletepeople smile
ReplyDeletejunk nod
on the yellow road
something
i never want
to see again
I totally understand the lacking the courage to feel your heart. Only way to be when you are hurting so much. Such power in your words and unlike anything else I read. I love your work. Wait do I tell you that every week? Always good to read.
ReplyDeleteStrong writing here, Jae. You continue to capture life in your own unique way. And that yellow road has to lead somewhere.....
ReplyDeleteThank you Nimue..maybe we are like cups..sometimes we get empty..but we can re-fuel..
ReplyDeleteThank you OldEgg..maybe the words are the foot soldiers..i am nothing but marshmallow inside..
Thank you Ann..perceptive as ever..an absence of anything i guess comes from the knowledge of what you've lost..i hope Alice..and us..will be ok..
Thank you Green Speck..
No..it is not a good road..thank you Rallentanda..long may you journey on a better path..
Thank you Dandelion Girl..i always appreciate your visits..no matter what you say..
Thank you Mary..it must it must x
From the going nowhere feel to the crinkle of tin, this reminds me entirely too much of the little truck sitting derelict in my backyard for over a week now. Gotta get on that today.
ReplyDelete,,,"storms(toronados,etc)" mind manafesed,(redneck sounding)...can be undone,,reckon? sometimes,,,how you been?
ReplyDeleteAlice..that's so strange..in the second hand shop on the route i walk there is a little sit on blue tin car..i imagine like a little Cadillac..the rough edges seem sore..not safe..but a delight for little ones..thank you..
ReplyDeleteSwept up in the tornado and spat out on the broken cobbles..is that gloomy..j is ok thank you Glenn..churning out the words like lollipop men..maybe tornadoes are like plug holes..if you swirl around in the opposite direction..you can reverse them..
So full they're empty is so powerful and true. Many seem to fill up their lives with meaningless things only to realize they have nothing of value on the inside. I love this, Jae!
ReplyDelete"people smile, junk nod". and
ReplyDeletewe stand like posts rusting decaying blue.
intriguing and surreal. i like the marriage of alice and dorothy.
Thank you kindly Belva..
ReplyDeleteThank you Paige..I don't think they'd like sharing the limelight..but they'd certainly make some mischief..which would be fun..
We do look for answers, sometimes they are spot on, and sometimes not. We continue. And one day the sun shines in such a special way, we are glad we came.
ReplyDeleteThat is a comment full of cheer for this rainy afternoon..thankyou so Annell x
ReplyDelete