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María en la Roca (Sewage Filter)

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I saw the face of a woman in the rock

It was etched into the heart of

A tall black cliff and I marvelled

For that face, was yours.

 

It was head-height, cold, unseeing

At the black water that gushed below

The bile of hell washed from its eyes

Like a solemn sacrifice.

 

It becomes a prison in my mind, but

I can only see irrelevance where

The boundaries meet.

 

I hope not to flail before this effigy of nature

But I see escape in every rivet in the basalt

A cave beneath the deep where the shingle prowls

A tempest lurking frenetic beyond midnight.

 

And I hide in some dark catacomb

Where the shadow of yesterday recedes

And comfort creeps sterile from blue sky.

 

For now this heartache lives

In the nightmare, that refuses to take leave

An imagining that can only be re-captured

In the height of the storm.

2011

◄ The Dream at the Party

Lake Song ►

Comments

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David Blake

Thu 7th Feb 2013 00:05

Thanks for the feedback Isobel. Yes, the bit in brackets isn't very good really, I agree. I wrote it ages ago where I used to put alternative titles in parentheses.

With this title it was more an image-association thing with me so I understand must be difficult for anyone else to follow. That's the trouble with me not having really shared my poems much up to now, in that I can't really get a good sense of what I'm doing right or wrong.

You're right about the title. But it was more of an image-poem here rather than following a clear meaningful narrative, which can sometimes backfire with me. For people who like certainty and not just messing around for words, I guess this poem isn't going to be their thing.

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Isobel

Wed 6th Feb 2013 22:09

I very much like the first verse; which doesn't mean that I don't like the rest, just that I don't follow it.

With the title, I get a connection to visions/Virgin Mary/miracles. The juxtaposition with sewage filters leads me to think that the poem will be a satire or an undermining of the nature of the woman - but I'm left wondering, not understanding, which I find hard.

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