The walls are a muddied white
Cool to touch
Soothing to lean against
There is one window
It is covered with a black cloth
We would like to pull the cloth aside
See what is left out there
There was a time when we ignored the outside
We wanted nothing more than to be in
Now outside is not a given
We want to be there
Touch the soil
Smell the breeze
Remember time spent gazing at trees
Feel the rain brushing against our cheeks
We do not know how long we have been in the bunker
Time stopped on the day the door was locked
We have cake and tea but it won't last forever
Certainly no tea party or flick of imagination
It's brittle and dusty in our mouths
Black and white
Not colour
We do not know day or night
We sleep when we are scared
We sleep when we are bored
It was different when we could choose to lock ourselves in
When we had the key we were real
Now we are nothing more than a few sinking thoughts
We touch the wall
Cool and soothing
We will survive this bunker
Find a way out
Just like we have done many times before.
"Now we are nothing more than a few sinking thoughts" That's so good.
ReplyDeleteA hopeful final line, though it's certainly getting harder to have that faith. I have to agree: that "sinking thoughts" line is perfect!.
ReplyDelete"When we had the key we were real." I love that. And the wanting to be outside. Yes, you will find a way out. You know the route.
ReplyDelete'when we had the key we were real' ~~ how I long to find that key. Beautiful write.
ReplyDeleteIt is horrifying when what we think will be a haven becomes a trap. I do admire the resilience of the protagonist, and how they know that they've escaped traps before and can do it again.
ReplyDelete"Now we are nothing more than a few sinking thoughts" This is the way the world ends, not with a bang but a whimper
ReplyDeleteThat last line is a killer :) Loved the thoughtful images and the tone you strike....is sophisticated and fresh. Thanks so much for posting!
ReplyDeleteWhat a lot of truisms in this writing Julie whether it be in a written fantasy or in or true life. I am sure thgere are many people who feel trapped in their own lives whilst others may look enviously at them.
ReplyDeleteI like the contrast of the muddied white walls that are cool and soothing with the black cloth that hides what is left out there, of the outside and inside, the before and after. I was particularly touched by the things that mean outside: the soil, breeze, trees and rain, and niside - the cake and tea that’s ‘brittle and dusty in our mouths’. You’ve captured the boredom too, Jae. I was just starting to feel depressed by the line ‘Now we are nothing more than a few sinking thoughts’, when hope glimmered at the end.
ReplyDeleteI feel the lonely, the depressed, the sad, but I am glad this poem has the fighting spirit as well!
ReplyDeleteWhen we cannot chose to close the door... that is when the weight is the largest.
ReplyDelete"When we had the key we were real
ReplyDeleteNow we are nothing more than a few sinking thoughts"
The power to choose makes all the difference.
It was different when we could choose to lock ourselves in
ReplyDeleteWhen we had the key we were real...
This is a most excellent depiction of what it means to be shut in. I am very late to read and comment, but I am so glad I got a chance to read this poem.