Echos
collide,
leaving nothing but strangled silence.
In the aftermath, in that momentary space,
peace tentatively smiles.
Shivering in the darkness, she knows that soon
egos, in blinding rage, will rise anew.
About the Creator
Cathy holmes
Canadian family girl with a recently discovered love for writing. Other loves include animals and sports.
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Foot Bindings
I asked my grandmother how she knew she'd fallen in love. I am not sure I ever did love him, she said. This was before I met my husband. I was naive, a naked spring, a raw nerve of a thing. That cannot ever be me, I knew. Sadness swept in gently like a Moscow thaw. It is no simple thing, looking into a woman's vast soul and seeing its foot bindings. Now, in Italy divorced with my skin singed off, when I say I don't love him mean: I have succeeded at feeling nothing most days and it mostly works. Do you want the comfort of Nothing? Do you want Nothing, too? Be warned: you'll never be free, even when you are nothing. Here is what doesn't work: Accepting the stages of grief. Talking about it. Sitting with the feeling. Missing him—no, the person you were when you believed in death do us part. Writing poetry. That, too. When I say I don't love him I mean: I feel capsized in an endless, starved tide. What sometimes works: selective memory. You must forget ripe tomatoes and his beard and feeling perfectly sheltered in a big blue world. Forget coffee in bed, laughter watching TV, blowing out the candles on the birthday cake and the quiet all-encompassing knowledge that you are chosen. Remember only how love turned to a banal everyday survival act, a trapeze act unsure whether he will catch you, how the warmth stagnated and became sour, remember the foot bindings and remember the resentment boiling in your veins as you stick it out for the kids. Six-hour Netflix binges help, too. A man's fingers tracing your spine. Frozen pizza at 2 a.m. Random trips to the museum just to stand near things that last a while. The realization that crying won’t change anything. Seeing that life is just a dream, and refusing to participate in your own suffering. Bite your fist. Walk on eggshells around joy. When I say I don't love him, I mean he didn’t break my heart, he just stopped touching it and it forgot how to beat right.
By Ella Bogdanovaa day ago in Poets
Public Announcement Challenge Winners
For the Public Announcement Challenge, writers were asked to work inside voices built for control. These were notices, warnings, and updates meant to inform rather than confess. The strongest entries committed to that form and didn't break from it. Corporate memos, formal government alerts, and internal policy language were held consistently, allowing emotion, fear, grief, or humor to surface indirectly through pressure rather than declaration. The following poems recognize the voice of authority, and let human feeling slip through despite all its rules and restraint.
By Vocal Curation Team3 days ago in Resources
Comments (21)
Those first couple of lines being so brief really pack a punch 😊😊😊
Those first few words set such a fantastic and dramatic tone. Loved this one so much!! Wow, this was wonderful, my friend :)
“peace tentatively smiles“. I like how you personify the concept in these lines, and this feels like a gentle warning about the way we treat and deal with each other in this world, through the idea of thunder and lightning. Nicely done Cathy😊
yes! I love how in that momentary space, there is peace :)
I felt the clouds rolling in. Beautifully penned!
A beautifully captured calm befor ethe storm.Very clever metaphor and stunning imagery as always 🤍
Oh this is absolutely beautiful! Love the picture choice too.
Excellent!
Smashed it! Love your acrostic!! 💌
That last line hit me so hard! Loved your Acrostic!
Very nice Cathy!
Peace gains a brief respite and nothing more. The structure of the poem emphasizes how striking that brief smile really is given the savage sandwiching between chaos and conflict. Really well done, Cathy!
"peace tentatively smiles." What a beautiful middle line. It is superb.
Made me forget it was an acrostic.
Stunning work!
Layered. I like this a lot. It talks of nature but deeper human stuff too.
This picture you chose sets the mood so well. well done!
Incredible work- vivid, emotionally charged combinations of words- love it!!
Wowser, buddy! Powerful! This is stunning.
Wow girl, you’ve outdone yourself with this one. Love it.
Love the flow of your heartbreaking poem!!! Loving it, my friend!!!💕❤️❤️