THE PRISON OF THE PAST (photo) & SHE SITS ACROSS FROM VICTORIA'S SECRET IN PASEO NUEVO (non-dream, free verse poem) by Roswila

SHE SITS ACROSS FROM VICTORIA'S SECRET
IN PASEO NUEVO

"Living with this fear now all the time,"
she scribbles, "is like having an extra
heart beat in the pit of my stomach."

as if at the first shocking realization,
a large part of her heart broke off
and plummeted into her stomach,
an erratic, terrified beating at worst,
at best, sharp hunger pangs agitating
to eat herself into oblivion

and does she have enough heart left
in her breast for the ongoing outing
of all these ancient, once necessary
self-protective secrets
she'd had to keep from herself,

for peeling away their suffocating silk,
leaving her evermore exposed,
as vulnerable and fearful
as a newborn abandoned
at the edge of a roiling sea


[non-dream free verse poem written 9-17-16. The secrets I've been exposing to myself are not forgotten or repressed things, but the ways in which I've had to deny the full significance of traumatic events, their total interrelatedness, and how they've undergirded my entire life. I.e., until I'd healed and matured enough, and that's been a life time's work. BTW, my brother, Russ, who died 3 years ago, would have been 68 years old today. He, too, had childhood trauma to deal with, which I witnessed. I deeply hope he's found peace. Photo "The Prison of the Past" (9-15-16 019v2a) by Roswila]

PLEASE NOTE: in most browsers you can click on the above image for a larger version. Also, the photo accompanying a post is not necessarily meant to illustrate it, but to reflect some small, even slant aspect of the verse, similar to Japanese haiga (illustrated haiku).

There are many other sorts of posts on this blog. I indicate which are about or influenced by dreams. Some non dream focused posts are book reviews, "regular" poems (some by other writers), scifaiku, writing exercises, Tarot haiku, photos, haiga, and so on. However, most of those are in much older posts. There's a listing by month going back to early 2006, at the end of the sidebar.

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until next time, keep dreaming,

[a/k/a Patricia Kelly]
**** If you wish to copy or use any of my writing or poems, please email me for permission (under “View my complete profile”). Roswila's other blog (dedicated to her photos only, i.e. no poetry or other writing; daily post); TRYING TO HOLD A BOX OF LIGHT.