Sunday, January 16, 2011

The Shallows

Accretion by Matthew Xavier

Endless,
the laxness of limbs,
dewy shoulder and wispy waist.

Sinister,
fingers tucked in a fist,
palms tightly cupping a chin.

Endless,
the separation of auras,
haloed smile and sparkling eye.

Sinister,
eyes flashing with secrets,
kisses quick-frozen on lips.

Endless,
the neat rows
in which they sit.

Sinister,
the open windows
with curtains aflutter.

Endless,
the crooked paths
on which they walk.

Sinister,
the latched windows
with curtains sutured.

Endless,
the shattering of the glass.

Sinister,
the splintering of the lock.

Endless,
the darkness in which they sleep.

Sinister,
the light in which they lie.

Not in the depths of dreams
Do we live,
But in their shallows
Do we die, I whisper…

As I wave goodbye.

37 comments:

Man Named Kim said...

i clicked over thinking to find something related to the book of the same title, and find this wonderful, haunting run through a violent and ominous reminder of what is here with us - all too often - in this world.

whew.

Blasphemous Aesthete said...

An alternation of positive and negative as the scene unruffled before my very eyes.

Beautiful, especially the last paragraph.

Cheers,
Blasphemous Aesthete

Desert Rose said...

The last paragraph is a real EPIC Nevine! you mastered your language here! i feel very proud to read your lines that profoundly play on the inner of the souls..real EXCELLENCE! :)

Shadow said...

a deep dark undercurrent here...

Martin said...

For many, things are often not what they seem. For a few of us, things are mostly as they seem. I loved this perceptive piece, Nevine.

Ashley Ashbee said...

Beautiful! I hadn't thought such things were sinister and endless, but now I can see how. Perspective is everything.

Anonymous said...

my friend, not sure how you do it, I never am...but it is like you are inside my head, reading my soul...

you amaze

Nevine Sultan said...

Kim - Here... with us... every day... if we care to look... and to notice. Beneath the surfaces are many layers. You got it, Kim!

Blasphemous Aesthete - Thank you, and I'm happy you liked it. The last paragraph is my favorite, too! :-)

Abeer - The last paragraph is your favorite, too. Okay, now I'm really smiling. ;-) Thank you for your always lovely feedback, Abeer!

Shadow - !

Nevine Sultan said...

Martin - Yes, you're so right. And so much grey area in between, too. Thank you, Martin.

Ashley - Perspective defines just about all of human experience, doesn't it?

Kaleidoscope - I enjoy being that voyeur, my dear friend! ;-)

Cildemer said...

Loved the rhythm and sound of your beautiful poem, ma belle amie!
Felt a little ill at ease while reading it though. Wouldn't like to be in the shallows!
And yes,I agree with BA and DR. The last paragraph is fabulous.

***
Gros gros bisous et belle semaine sous une myriade d'étoiles bienveillantes et inspiratrices ****

steveroni said...

Steve did not say anything...he just whistled:

WHHEEEEEOOOUU!!!!

and he whispered, "So this is how we die?" As he waved goodbye.

STUNNING!

Betty Manousos said...

Deep thoughts/meanings, eloquent, and an endless source of inspiration and beauty and... these are the words I would use if I would be asked to describe your divine poetry.
Very deep content in this poem...lots of symbolisms, and great selection of words.

"...kisses quick-frozen on lips" It is just an entire poem, a vivid image, a sad feeling so beautifully expressed. Stunning!

Thank you for sharing this, Nevine.

Big hugs!

B xx

P.S. I also thank you for your lovely comments. Loved them. )

S. Susan Deborah said...

Nevine:

The images unsettled me. The sinister feeling started with the picture which is quite haunting. And after that haunting picture, the words follow in the same style. the alternating images and the resonance of words create a feeling of vaguness within. The power of poetry or the magic of yours, I am yet to decipher.

Joy always,
Susan

GYPSYWOMAN said...

so softly powerful, nevine, are your words - just exquisitely beautiful and so very powerful and each one ringing with the chime of truth - magnifico, lady!!!

Lydia Kang said...

That was a powerful poem. And the picture was haunting and evocative--a lot going on.

I found your blog from Jai's post, btw. Nice to meet you.

Jai Joshi said...

*sigh* How do you do it?

You have an award at my blog, Nevine.

Jai

Nevine Sultan said...

Cremilde - It is a bit of a disturbing read, isn't it? It was an extremely disturbing write, too, ma belle. But, it wanted its release. So... I let it go. Wishing you a beautiful week, as well... and hoping everything smiles at you as you go about it! Gros bisous! :-)

Steve - Thank you for the "Stunning!" And I can't really say if this is truly how we die, though I hope it isn't. That would be a cruel way to go! Just let the imagination have its wicked playtime for a while, but let reality be so much more pleasant... hopefully.

Betty - You always pick things apart and give me such beautiful feedback, and I truly appreciate it. I also appreciate your appreciation of my writing; it makes the hard work so worthwhile. Thank you, my dear. Big hugs back!

Nevine Sultan said...

Susan - You sound confused... but you're not. The "vagueness" is exactly what this is all about. The shallowness of human emotion... its superficiality. But, that was what it meant to me as I wrote it. Shallowness is such a deadly disease.

Jenean - Oh, thank you for being so kind. You are always so, Jenean!

Lydia - Hello, welcome, and nice to meet you as well. Jai is a sweetheart and a great blogging friend. And thank you for the nice words. Greatly appreciated!

Jai - :-)

Carolina M. Valdez Schneider said...

So eloquent and beautiful. The alternating stanzas are truly thought provoking. I wish I could write poetry half as well. Nicely done!

Owen said...

Shivers...

Felt like I was back in The Shining, someone with an ax chasing me down the endless hallways of a sinister hotel. That was a powerful story, movie, and this is a powerful poem. Inspiring shivers, desolation, awe...

You take us all over the map of reason and un-reason Nevine, and we will follow you anywhere I think.

Rick said...

Nevine
This could be applied to so many circumstances in life
religion
politics
love
and really, it's very damning
well done but a bit bitter to digest as I fear we are all in here somewhere
~rick

Eva said...

It was interesting to read something so dark from you. You write it so well, because you can paint an image so lovely, yet so inescapably terrifying in one piece.

Nevine Sultan said...

Carolina - Thank you for the high praise. I really do appreciate it!

Owen - Ah, The Shining. One of my favorite movies of all time. A true horror to watch... and experience. But an eye-opener, too. I had one foot braced solidly inside reality, and the other brushing some strange fantasy as I wrote this one, Owen. Not fantasy in the sense of its being unreal, because we have all been inside "the shallows" at one point or the other. But... anyway... difficult to explain. The mind takes us to dark places of thought, sometimes, and I always follow. It's nice to know I have friends like you for company. :-)

Nevine Sultan said...

Rick - Yes, we are all in here, aren't we? Or we’ve all been in here before… somewhere… in one stanza or the other… in one room or the other. Are we so pessimistic? Nah! Realistic is more like it, Rickeeeee! ;-)

Eva - Thank you, Eva. I actually love dark writing, though most of what I share online isn't really so. I'm glad you liked it because you write dark so very well, too.

Anonymous said...

Like the relentless images of dream.

In all dreams, we kneel. The mirror of our minds is merciless. Both sinister and endless. And liberating. Whether we want to see the truth, or not.

Rick said...

I've been away writing for a few weeks, Nevine, and what a luxurious alternation between spiraling imagery this piece is. The other night I was thinking how many people's writing you have transformed by sharing your work. And I count myself one of them.

Unknown said...

I had this feeling of walking a knife edge - on a balance between light and dark.

As always - well done.

Nevine Sultan said...

Jason - It's great to see you here! "The mirror of our minds is merciless." That's a great way to sum it up, really... the truth vs. what we want to see. And what we want to see is hardly ever the truth. It does take another to sometimes show us who we truly are.

Rick - I count myself much humbled by your statement that I've transformed your writing. What an honor for me, Rick!

Lou - As always, you're right on!

Anonymous said...

Oh my friend, your newest piece on the naked light blog.....amazing!

Pat Tillett said...

Yin and Yang...
One of the things I like best about your writing is that you never get trapped in a certain style. Really good Nevine.

GYPSYWOMAN said...

greetings dear lady - just dropping by to say hello and hope your day is holding you gently!

Anonymous said...

haunting and one reason I will never say good bye... only see you later.

Nevine Sultan said...

David - :-)

Pat - Thank you. I like to experiment with new styles, every now and then. I've been trying my hand at structured poetry, recently. Fun!

Jenean - Thank you for checking in on me. That's so very sweet of you. I'm fine... I've just been swamped, lately.

Sir Thomas - :-)

Calli said...

Ah, what to say, Nevine, except that this was a ride. A frightful one, indeed as it picked up tempo like a musical theme from a scary film.

Very cool write! :)
~Calli

Nevine Sultan said...

Calli - Thank you! I'm so glad you liked it. It was a bit of a weird writing experience for me. I like dark... but not so very dark, sometimes. But, it was born and had to have its way... oh, well! We let our thoughts have the best of us, sometimes! ;-)

Januarie said...

Nevine, I could not agree more with what you said regarding shallowness. It is, indeed, a deadly disease. What makes it even worse, is that it IS the way of life for some people, and fortunately for them, they trully are not capable of seeing beyond it.

Nevine Sultan said...

Kaleidoscope Januarie - Hello, welcome, and thank you for leaving your thoughts. Yes, I agree about some people's inability to see beyond the shallowness. Though I wonder if sometimes they do see but refuse to change... Welcome aboard!