I recently wrote a short story about a young man, his high school sweetheart, and their less-than-desirable marriages (they tied the knot twice with each other before it all fell apart for good). The story, despite its description, is actually humorous and ends well. However, in some dark corner of my mind, I wondered: what if it hadn’t ended well? What if the man couldn’t handle the fact his one true love was unfaithful? That’s when this poem came to me.
Goodbye My Love, Goodbye
Retreating inward from the pain,
I smell the sweetness of her hair
As we move along the path. I strain
Uphill, dragging muddied weight to where
Headstones squat like sacred peaks between
Mowed grass where walked mourning crones.
Stoic statues weathered, weeping, still serene,
Guarding lengthy rows of buried bones.
We halt. Crows pass, loud caws abating.
A portal beyond the pale awaits, silent.
The gaping hole lies open, waiting, waiting
For my dearest here quiet, broken, spent.
Farewell, sweet beauty, unfaithful miss.
I weep. Red lipstick on blue, icy lips
Beckons. Entranced, I take one final kiss
Before tossing splendor into the dark abyss.
Goodbye my love, goodbye.
Jack, splendid poem. Where can I get the short story this springs from?
Thank you, Nancy. It made the cut and will appear in my next short story collection. I will notify you prior to publication. By the way, looking forward to seeing you this Sunday at Books In Bloom!
Beautiful, rich imagery that gave me chills.
Thank you for that, D. Wallace Peach! Much appreciated. Thank you for posting.
Beautifully written, Jack, and definitely chilling. The imagery is especially vivid.
Thank you, milliethom!
Hi jack! Glad I’ve caught you because I’m in the processs of nominating people on my Liebster Award post. I can’t find anything on your blog that says you are ‘Award free’ – so how would you feel if I nominated you? (There is on obligation to accept, of ccourse, and you wouldn’t have to do it until you had the time.)
Thank you, milliethom. I’m delighted you thought of me and would be honored for the nomination. One caveat, however, and it is the same whether I’m doing a book signing, newspaper interview, etc.: I would reserve the right to not answer a question if it’s too personal (by my definition). 🙂
That’s fine! But I don’t think the questions I’ve set delve too deeply into personal issues. There is a section about sharing things about yourself – which can be as general as you want, But certainly leave out what you don’t like. I should have the post up very soon now. I refuse to go to bed until it’s done!
Have a great day tomorrow. (I haven’t had chance to reply to your email yet because I’ve been doing this post!) 😀
Thank you! You wouldn’t believe some of the things I’ve been asked over the years. Get some sleep. You need to finish that Book 3. 😉
Tomorrow I intend to talk nicely to Eadwulf and Bjorn and ask their forgiveness for ignoring them! Enjoy tomorrow. 🙂
I hope they forgive you; I’ve seen their weapons. Just remind them you made them, you can destroy them! 😉
I’ll remember your words when I cower before them tomorrow. But yes, I can threaten to delete them if they won’t play nicely. 🙂
Bring them to their knees! I suspect Bjorn might be the easier to persuade. Although, both are probably anxious to sail south to warmer climes.
They’re already there – and I want to be there with them. The weather here is horrible and windy. It’s more like March than May.
Oh! Can’t blame you for that. They should be easy to handle then; they may not have even missed you. Probably having too much fun in the sun. 🙂
There’s certainly a lot going on for them in Cordoba. There’s lots of building work going on at the mosque, for a start. And goodness knows who they’ll meet there. Now, you see, I want to go and get on with it! Thanks for that, Jack. 😀
Pingback: Gone to the Grave | Waterside Kennels Mysteries