Wednesday, 24 June 2015

Shadow




















The door bends on the high
High Street
She carries a blue butterfly over head
It is pretty
She touches my shoulder
She hides her pretty
Thick white powder and red red lips

She is beautiful to me
I understand halfway why

Her hand untangles the puzzle
It lifts me
For a while
But the rise is fragile
Like butterfly wings

Our shadow returns
A lump in the throat
Halfway between summer and hell

The thought sinks in
Like butter
Sinking nervous through a dream

We trip skip trip to the high street

The birds scatter pitter patter
I reach for the rope
Maybe a ladder

Summer is coming she trembles
We huddle under the sheets

Pink medicine 
Pretty 
See

Apples for nausea 
Ginger for pain

Opiates are the best magic 
We keep close to our chest

I am tired of this pretty she moans
Sweat trickling down her back
Cementing clothes to wounds
Cans to pins 
Wishes to dreams 
Life to not being

I am ready to leave now I think
I hold her tight

If I was good I would let her go
If I was bad I wouldn’t care

Cut cans and butterfly wishes
How I wish that you were there

We can't get higher than the high 
High Street
She sings 

My little shadow
Halfway between summer and hell.

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55 comments:

  1. kaykuala24 June 2015 at 04:13

    The coming of summer can provoke lots of reactions. Some have weird reservations! Truly said Jae!

    Hank

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    1. Jae Rose24 June 2015 at 04:24

      Yes indeed - it can sometimes be too sunny! Thank you kindly Hank

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  2. Susan24 June 2015 at 04:19

    Beauty with no shadow does not exist in our Arcadia--not in any Eden, actually. My favorite part:
    "Her hand untangles the puzzle
    It lifts me
    For a while
    But the rise is fragile
    Like butterfly wings"
    ANd the refrain after Alice sings.

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    1. Jae Rose24 June 2015 at 04:25

      I hadn't thought of it like that - thank you for the illumination and kind comment (as always) Susan

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  3. Old Egg24 June 2015 at 04:36

    Hot as hell and cold as charity. We are not left with much choice are we? Our lives are like the butterflies fluttering about seeking peace and comfort while we can in that sweet nectar of life. Sweet dreams Jae.

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    1. Jae Rose24 June 2015 at 05:59

      Thank you Old Egg..I 'd not heard of that phrase..it fits perfectly however! Sweet dreams back to you

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  4. Peter Coddle24 June 2015 at 04:57

    I don't think we every really understand why something is beautiful.

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    1. Jae Rose24 June 2015 at 05:59

      No - maybe that's why it is beautiful..thank you very much Peter

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  5. Anonymous24 June 2015 at 05:30

    If I was good I would let her go
    If I was bad I wouldn’t care...

    so intense!

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    1. Jae Rose24 June 2015 at 06:00

      Thank you thotpurge - and really good to read your interview

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  6. Magical Mystical Teacher24 June 2015 at 06:09

    I think we desert-dwellers are halfway between summer and hell right now. What a great line (and you've repeated it!), although not such a great feeling: 45 degrees C.

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    1. Jae Rose24 June 2015 at 06:49

      Yes thankfully we only have to deal with metaphorical hell...ouch 45 degrees...i ope you are lying down with a nice cold drink ;) thank you Magical

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  7. Sanaa Rizvi24 June 2015 at 06:19

    Summer is coming she trembles
    We huddle under the sheets

    The arrival of Summer may not seem as pleasant to some as it does to others as it varies in degree. Beautifully penned :D

    Lots of love,
    Sanaa

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  8. Unknown24 June 2015 at 06:31

    Very powerful imagery. Well done!

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    1. Jae Rose24 June 2015 at 06:51

      Thank you Mark (I tried to leave a comment on your site but it wouldn't log me into gold plus - needless to say your piece was astute and wonderfully written)

      Delete
  9. alan170424 June 2015 at 07:12

    This is evocative and powerful, really feel the torment and emotion in the heart.

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    1. Jae Rose24 June 2015 at 09:37

      Thank you Alan - like your new profile photo - always good to see a friendly face!

      Delete
  10. Sumana Roy24 June 2015 at 07:27

    "Summer is coming she trembles / We huddle under the sheets" ha...this is our summer more like the inferno :)


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    1. Jae Rose24 June 2015 at 09:38

      It's not all sunshine and blue skies for sure - thank you Sumana

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  11. Ann (bunnygirl)24 June 2015 at 07:40

    Summer is real but hell is only a metaphor. If Alice thinks she is ready to go, you must ask who is coming in her place because none of us walk alone.

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    1. Jae Rose24 June 2015 at 09:39

      Thank you for your wonderful comment Ann...a lot of wise things to consider

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  12. humbird24 June 2015 at 07:46

    Ah, the beginning is so inspiring, but the shadow return....and we keep rising....it's better then going down, I guess....

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    1. Jae Rose24 June 2015 at 09:40

      Yes always good to keep trying however hard...thank you humbird xo

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  13. Sheilagh Lee24 June 2015 at 08:33

    This is so beautiful and yet sad JaeRose.

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  14. Sherry Blue Sky24 June 2015 at 08:37

    Such a beautiful blue butterfly. These lines are so lovely, "it lifts me for a while. But the rise is fragile as butterfly wings." Such knowing in "if I was good I'd let her go. If I was bad I wouldnt care." The phrase "halfway between heaven and hell" is so powerful. This poem is especially good, Jae Rose. Wonderful to read first thing in the morning.

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    1. Jae Rose24 June 2015 at 09:41

      And wonderful to see you and read your comment on this Wednesday evening..thank you kindly Sherry

      Delete
  15. Mary24 June 2015 at 08:47

    Halfway between summer and hell sounds kind of like the concept of purgatory - neither 'here' nor 'there.' Hoping you are having a good day, Jae.

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    1. Jae Rose24 June 2015 at 09:42

      It could be a worse day Mary - always - yes it is a kind if purgatory..self made in part I am sure..many thanks and best wishes

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  16. annell424 June 2015 at 10:15

    The last line is so powerful! Somehow unexpected! As always a wonderful write...xoxoxoxo

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  17. Anjum Wasim Dar24 June 2015 at 11:30

    the line between this world and the other is thin...like the invisible break of the solstice like the shadow of a butterfly..beautiful imagery lovely poem

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  18. rallentanda24 June 2015 at 17:36

    Enigmatic and a seeming dread of summer or at least what it represents.

    A blue sky and a cup of tea can make my day....If I could give this survival strategy to you, I would
    ....it's a winner but requires a very innovative mind ( a nice way of saying a little bit crazy:)....Apart from tying you to a stake and shooting arrows into you (they did that to St Sebastian...ouch!) no one can get at you . .( Smiles)

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    1. Jae Rose25 June 2015 at 05:28

      Blue sky tea drinking seems positively delicious...trouble is the wrong people get to me at the wrong times...and they don't hold back on the arrows...thank you kindly Rallnetanda :)

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  19. Helen A. Howell24 June 2015 at 20:18

    Our lives can be as changeable as the weather, and sometimes we feel caught between the seasons ^_^

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  20. Helen A. Howell24 June 2015 at 20:28

    Life can often be changeable like the weather and sometimes we feel as though we are caught between the seasons.....

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    1. Jae Rose25 June 2015 at 05:29

      Yes..it is a dilemma isn't it...i like my seasons to be firmly in the game! Thank you kindly Helen...

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  21. Alice Audrey24 June 2015 at 21:17

    This one is scary.

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    1. Jae Rose25 June 2015 at 05:30

      I think so too...on the days when i can think clearly..thank you kindly Alice

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  22. Panchali25 June 2015 at 01:23

    Beautiful....time of a struggle between chaos and order, with chaos trying to take back over the world. I do feel that fear/struggle is a necessity for life. In the right amounts and in the right perspective it enables us to tread with caution when needed in a sometimes unforgiving world.... The phrase "halfway between heaven and hell" is so powerful. Loved it, Jae!

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    1. Jae Rose25 June 2015 at 05:32

      Thank you very Panchali - you are right we need some fear and struggle in order to move forwards...hopefully as you say not all the time however..thank you

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  23. J Cosmo Newbery25 June 2015 at 05:22

    Halfway between summer and Hell? New thought that they may be extremes. Mind you winter is no paradise, I guess.

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    1. Jae Rose25 June 2015 at 05:33

      I think i could be in the garden of Eden in a climate that's just right and still complain! I guess paradise is what you make it...thank you kindly J Cosmo

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  24. Gen Giggles 25 June 2015 at 05:26

    A great poem looking at the love and dislike of heat.

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    1. Jae Rose25 June 2015 at 05:34

      Yes..we're not too fond of heat - in all its forms..thank you GL

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  25. J.N.T.25 June 2015 at 08:08

    i love your way of surviving the summer. i understand that the summer time is also painfully searing but there are ways to brave it, like the visuals you have here. I enjoyed your poem heaps.

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  26. Gail25 June 2015 at 10:24

    Beautiful.

    Thanks for visiting.

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  27. Myrna R.25 June 2015 at 11:14

    .Well, at least the high lasts a little while and hell is half-way away, not here. It's sad that it's so easy to get to hell, so hard to cling to a heavenly high. But, it's doable. Really.
    Hope the summer is not too hellish.

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    1. Jae Rose26 June 2015 at 05:49

      Thank you very much Myrna..hopefully there will be a midsummer half way point which is just right!

      Delete
  28. Intelliblog30 June 2015 at 19:09

    It's hard to balance one's humours so that they are in syntony with the changing seasons. There come a few days where there is a magic correspondence and it's those days we look for...

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    1. Jae Rose1 July 2015 at 01:44

      Oh yes a day of magical alignment of the humours would be much appreciated - thank you Nicholas

      Delete

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