I Was (Without)

Cherry

By Raventongue

Mon, 20 Feb 2012
  • 745 reads
2 comments
 

I was stripped of myself,
Your whore
Bereft of identity,
Volition,
Companion,
And meaning

My ink bled out when you reached past my ribs,
Tore out everything you wanted:
Guts and lung and three kinds of... Complained about the blood on it,
Left the rest to drain

I was plundered

I was stripped of the world,
Your slave
Bereft of narrative,
Pleasure,
Champion,
And perspective

I left my body when the new regime took over
Without hope of reform nor subversion
Coward and mute and every kind of victim
I was exile, ghost, concubine, blanched sheep,
And none of the above

I was silenced

And when passersby struck my side in the halls
I apologized for taking up space
Could not be told to so much as close a window
Without obeying in automated terror
I took to insulting myself like it was my job
And could not stop even when entreated,

I was ashamed

Certificate 15
Three Kinds of Heart Poems
Miscellaneous

Comments

Submitted by Raventongue on
Ah, I was wondering how the choice to use the symbol rather than the word would be recieved. The speaker is supposed to be very hesitant to say "heart" there, thus the need to disguise it- as if painfully, reluctantly realizing that the old "you can take my body but you can never steal my soul" is only partly true. Thank you for your feedback!

Submitted by Raventongue on
While it's true that I am the writer of this piece, I hadn't been sure how that particular decision would go and I'm glad to have a more concrete idea of the effect now. Very much appreciated!