Friday 25 March 2011

Swan Song

Introduction: This poem is about false hope, disappointment, fading memories of good times and fragility of friendship. Comment if you have your own interpretation or feedback :)

SWAN SONG


I don't value velvet, it's plush, peaceful touch
lining the box in my grasp.
As I think of the thing I cherish so much
I open the intricate clasp.

Laid before me with might, such a glorious sight,
a chain laced with imperial gold.
Though it has no true voice, I'm certain I'm right
that it tells great stories of old.

In the centre of all, I am deeply enthralled
by a locket, enigma-engraved.
Like a puppet it hangs, like a mountain it stands,
I recall the memories it saved.

As I flick open the latch, or is it a catch?
I'm uncertain, on edge, as ever.
A carving of swans, no anger, no wrath,
etched in the two angels' feathers.

Their necks arch and extend, contort and then bend,
in their eyes, the opposite of hate.
It makes me smile and well up, the message it sends,
a heart is the shape they create.

In my own bleeding heart is great expectation
at the wondrous things I may find.
A quake, a shake, of anticipation.
Your locket, what is behind?


A girl kissed by the sun, her troubles undone,
ladybirds rest in her hair.
She must learn to walk before she can run,
to Adam, she's Eve, a pair.

One more girl with a brain that will never again
succumb to the black cat of fate.
One man will carry her through the rain,
I dreamt she was not too late.

A third girl to whom love is too painful to chase,
she took me under her wing.
Although now her voice croaks, life's not a race.
With life and love she will sing.

Another took my hand from a foreign land,
helped to drag me from the cliff.
Oh, the love she'd had found, had she stayed around,
well... life is full of "if"s.

In this picture one more, lies cold on the floor
but when our warm embrace
begins, begins, her dove-white limbs
come alive, we're face-to-face.

One last breath, one last sigh, I open wide
the locket, it's God I thank.
But the walls blow apart, my heart's made of glass.
The film in the camera was blank





For those of you who are curious (probably none of you because I probably have no readers haha) here are some notes on my poems:

Notes on Swan Song: 

- Stanzas 7, 8, 9, 10 are about fellow patients who I am close to, who are wonderful people and have helped me in more ways than they know.

- Stanza 11 is about the girlfriend I hope to have.

- The swan imagery is used because I like the metaphor of a swan swimming, graceful and elegant above the surface but paddling furiously beneath.

- 'the thing I cherish so much' is friendship

- The golden locket's value is meant to represent the value of friendship

Notes on Wayside:


- The church refers to the hospital I am currently in

- The veil is a metaphor for clinging on to anorexia

- the part about 'telling all their tales' and 'burning the veils' is about my want for all my fellow patients to recover

5 comments:

  1. I have to comment on this really don't I!!
    wonderful stuff, you are doing so well, believe in yourself, and I know at least one of those stanzas thinks a lot about you.

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  2. wow thanks a lot. sorry who is this?

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  3. sorry im assuming you are someone i know, of course you dont have to give out personal details on the internet!! i just assumed maybe you were one of the people id told that id written about them. cheers for reading and keep an eye out for the latest poem (heck, even bookmark it if you want). x

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  4. ive just realised who you are and feel a bit stupid for all my rambling. thanks for the lovely comment and she deserves so much more than a measly little stanza.

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  5. hey here again... still loving your work, just amazing

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