Figurine (28th August, 2010)
Captured in glass, I am art:
timeless, wrought. They fired the sand
and liquid made, then froze in place
my beautiful, transparent gaze.
It is I you bought, silent, cold:
ice in a sculpted mould, blown
and pulled and shaped; no escape.
Polish my face, put me on display.
From the mantelpiece, your lounge
is the territory I survey;
I dance at your demand; arms
raised in eternal acquiescence.
Yet I refuse to bat an eye
as years pass by, cold, undressed;
from time to time you raise me, turn
me in the light. I do not fight.
Inside my crystal veins,
my frozen blood retains the
memory of lives unlived, the
names of those I won’t forgive.
Caught in the glass, I am life:
stolen, then sacrificed. Man made.
Of death, I am unafraid: I know
how easily glass can break.
Comments
lenchenelf | August 29, 2010 - 15:03
Like this, fleetingly I thought of a reversed 'Dorian Grey' but there is a convergence and conflation of ideas here which work very well, perhaps Art in-waiting for the breath of life. atb Lena xx
shoe | August 29, 2010 - 16:04
Has a lovely lyrical quality, beautiful.
jennifer | August 29, 2010 - 16:29
Thank you, lenchenelf. It's weird, I didn't think of Dorian Grey, but I have a theme in some of my work about being a living entity trapped in an inanimate form; see 'The Red Dress', my short story, for a similar tale. Yes, it's as if there is hope that she might be saved, I think, here!
Thank you, shoe, I do like to play with word patterns and sounds!
J x
MistakenMagic | August 29, 2010 - 20:10
I completely agree with Shirley, the sound-patterning is wonderful in this one! Brilliant piece ;)
Magic xxx
rjnewlyn | September 2, 2010 - 23:22
The subject matter works well and is nicely chosen - the idea of glass coming from sand, being essentially immune to slow decay and yet just as fragile. I liked this - it seemed to say lots of things at once which is always good.
Rob
Kahdai | October 31, 2010 - 20:51
Ah I really like this jennifer it made me think of someone paralyzed that would make you helples like glass can be just picked up and smashed I hope not think anyone would have the heart to make a glass creature after reading this I never thought of it that way, a little depressive, yet I liked it K
jennifer | October 31, 2010 - 21:01
Thank you so much, yes, I was feeling a bit trapped when I wrote it. I also was influenced by seeing Toy Story 3 earlier this year, and had a moment of imagining that toys and other inanimate figurines might have feelings! It's a trend of mine - if you like this theme, try 'The Red Dress' - a short story by me, also available in audio format on the ABCtales radio site!
J x
Kahdai | October 31, 2010 - 21:35
ooh ok thanks :) am trying to find it