This poem was very loosely inspired by an environmental piece I saw a few months back on the blog Eco-Friendly Life and Toys. The post features a video clip of writer Derrick Jensen discussing the concept of toxic mimics. I highly recommend watching it, especially since I didn't depict the concept very well below.
Toxic mimic
By Francis Scudellari
(Be led …)
To this reed-choked pool
I'm drawn
With liquid murmurs
My face
Reflected, once-clear
Lines warped
By bubbling decay
(Belong …)
On rippled surface
I seem
Closer. With each breath
My lack
Spreads. Circling worries
Carried
By weak-willed current
(Believe …)
In the brown-tinged glass
I bend
To watery shade
Fingers
Twisted black branches
Reach out
For a sighted hope
(Be loved …)
As teary phantom,
I view
This lonely image
All worth
Grown monstrous, over
Time held
In, tightly, my own
7 comments:
What a heart-tugging poem. If I haven't read the introduction, I would think that the poet is in a lonely, sad mood. lol...
Thanks for that thought-provoking poem.
Cheers.
I just have to say that your are SO incredibly talented
@Jena I tend to bounce between sadness and happiness pretty easily these days ... but that's good for depicting a range of emotion :)
@BeatBlack Thanks ... I always have my nagging doubts, but I really appreciate the compliment. And I'm a big fan of your site :).
The whole second verse is just so spare and beautiful, as is the rest of the poem really. Beautiful even for someone who doesn't understand toxic mimics.
With each passing visit, my admiration for your artistic shine gets longer, taller, deeper and broader. So I guess... I guess it's growing. ;)
Deliciously challenging piece! Wow.
Just passing by for my usual poetry fix Francis.Wonderful always, though this is a little different than usual. I think one of my favorites.
@Fiendish Thanks ... and I think you can count me in that group of folks who doesn't completely understand toxic mimics, but I used the general idea to portray a type of modern Narcissus.
@Carolina Thanks for the very large compliment :). I appreciate it coming from a poet such as yourself.
@Cooper It's very rewarding when experimentation pays off :). Thanks as always for the visit and comment.
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