Poem Drafts

[katealaurel]

Spindlesong

Let me be brittle
For all that's left, let me break
Gossamer thread spins out and in
A web, a net, a shimmer in the air
Catch this moment, the strain of this day
Fold it away and pack it in spidersilk
It will not decay
When the time is done,
I will remain
Crystallized- immobile in the tensile strength of thread
Threads tie me back in
Wave outwards to the four corners of the room
The spiders spinning darkly, clambering on the shimmers of their string
Spin me out
Spin me out and pull me in
The threads we severed
But they hang,
For a moment,
Lighter than air as the strain is gone
Before they plummet to ground.
---
Turandot

"Princess of Ice"
He calls me-
What else is there left?
All my warmth has been pulled away
Drawn into the call of the blood from the headsman's axe-
I am frozen, yes, but I am pure
No freshness of air trapped within my chill
I suffocate gladly, when it is better
Than giving in to joy-
Joy? What is that?-
What is there in laughter and smiles and the touch of warm flesh
When there is height?
I will be alone, blessedly alone,
I will be inhuman if I must,
Only let me be free of them
Let me wander alone in the mountains of the soul
Where chill and ice
Will block the way back down
Back home-
But-
His touch on my veil-
Silk does not move, it shivers
It glues itself to his hot fingertips
Melting at his skin
It lifts of its own accord, it seems-
And there is the world,
There is he,
And all the faded glories of the mists and of the ice
Blurring the lines and leaving clear what's within
Are burning away in the vibrancy of his light-
He is the sun-
And I am too close-
And I
Melt.
---

The latter is based on the title character from Puccini's opera Turandot, but hopefully it makes sense even without knowing that. If you're desperate for a summary, they're available online somewhere.

I just now realized that it also borrows somewhat from my favorite poem.. go figure.

-K