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Author Message
lumen
Cocktail stormy sea Mark Unseen   Jul 26 22:06 UTC 1999

Let me drink of the sea that threatens to swallow me.
The thunder is loud and the lightning hurts my eyes.
I can smell the heady scent of that ocean,
and I can see that the elements mix it
in a myriad of colors and flavors.
The clouds are dark and bitter.
Let me plunge into the depths
that I might not see that dullness of the sky.
Earthquakes on land throw chunks of rock at me,
so let me take the tsunamis they make as
they come to these vast waters.

Let me drink again,
so that the waves may cascade on my brain
and the growing numbness
will cause me to forget.
Cause me to forget
the wounds the landlovers did inflict on me.
Message in a bottle, indeed--
I come out to sail in one,
not throw one out to the poisoned shore.

I am told I am not alone,
but the mists are heavy out here.
The ship of fools sometimes comes out this way,
but it's sailing the sky
and I join the crew only when it sails the sand.

Aye, I can swim,
so I walk the plank
on this boat of pain.
I've pulled myself back in,
and I grow weak to the siren's call,
so full of the sea's brew am I.
I've walked only a few times,
but I'm not sure when
I'll drown
or crash upon the rocks.
5 responses total.
russ
response 1 of 5: Mark Unseen   Jul 27 04:35 UTC 1999

Interesting view of an alcohol haze.  I'd never considered it
in terms even remotely like that.
lumen
response 2 of 5: Mark Unseen   Jul 27 19:11 UTC 1999

it's describing the psyche of an addict, or rather, one that is prone to 
addiction
flem
response 3 of 5: Mark Unseen   Aug 7 04:56 UTC 1999

The Message in a bottle section is good.  "poisoned shore" is really 
good, struck a note.  
orinoco
response 4 of 5: Mark Unseen   Aug 8 14:43 UTC 1999

Posoned shore is good, yeah.  "But it's sailing the sky / and I join the crew
only when it sails the sand" is _great_.  

"Earthquakes on land throw chunks of rock at me"...I found this line
unintentionally funny; I'm not sure why.  Something about it's phrasing, or
the word "chunks".  Maybe it's just me...
"Aye, I can swim" and "walk the plank" didn't do anything for me.  You've got
your nautical theme well-enough established without talking like a bad movie
pirate :)

Okay, so I'm picking on a lot of phrases, but I really do like this poem. 
Good work.
lumen
response 5 of 5: Mark Unseen   Aug 10 19:11 UTC 1999

I'm not sure why, but my grim reality in all its morbidity can inspire 
my best poems.
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