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a_little_wisp
04-17-2009, 06:26 PM
She's not where she once was
Where I once looked.
The last I heard from her -
She whispered to me, desperate,
Her face pasty,
Her lips too parched -
Were the ghostly whispers,
Echoes from a dusty time,
And they were incoherent.
The TV screen flickers and a thousand hissing
Snowflakes fill the screen.
The room is empty now-
She was once there.

She's not where she once was,
Where we once laughed
On countertops with our dearest friend,
Or cuddled next to Mother.
I found her fingerprints on a pen
Ink stains abound
On jeans and t-shirts.
A slowly sipped tea cup
Has gone cold on a messy desk.
And the night falls,
But her bed is empty
Where once she slept-
She dreamt there too.


She's not where she once was
Where we once lived
The mirrors have been uncleaned
And the girl who once stared back-
well.


Creatures that scuttle
And silverfish invade
The recesses of a dim rainbow room
Where fantasy flourished-
She flourished with it,
Faded with it.


She's not where she once was
She wandered away when broken-record-friends
Began to repeat the same questions
To the same answers she'd
Already given-
But it's too late to be reminded now,
For she grew rusted in her own rain,
And each step became more heavy,
Until she grew too sleepy
And the forest grew over her
And the shadows stretched on and enveloped her.
The wind shut the door close,
But the TV was still fuzzing,
The kettle screaming,
Keys and necessities still sitting
On the countertop,
Left behind and forgotten-

But I still pulse,
My beat resounding
In this hollow space,
In the chest of the girl
Who forgot my power -
Who forgot her own-
And we wait,
Petrified
Until someone remembers
The oil can.

skib
04-17-2009, 06:30 PM
Wispy, you write the deepest, most thought provoking poems! I truly stand (or sit) in awe of your ability to write such wonderful poetry. I'm not going to pretend for a second I can understand everything you put into your writing, but you have evoked many thoughts in my sleepy brain. Well done!

~Sophia~
04-17-2009, 06:49 PM
Knock, knock. Delivery of one oily oil can... and a new heart - for the lost and found!

I love this Wispy.

"and Oz never did give nothing to the Tin Woman
that she didn't, didn't already have"

BienvenuJDC
04-17-2009, 07:00 PM
Interesting how you tied the 5th verse back to on and two with the TV and the kettle. I loved the way that you spoke about "her" and then waited to the end to show that it was actually yourself that you were looking for.

But I see her...
Where she stands now!
Glazing over with that gray tone
In the place where color had shown.
The brisk and hardened lifeless form
Was once the maiden, oh so warm.
I search the thicket floor for gold
Not the kind that's hard and cold --
Black gold is the treasure that I need
To free the fairy yes indeed.
Her task has yet to be complete
To get this poor man on his feet
Unseize the ancient charley robot
So she can teach the man the foxtrot!!!!

Sapphire
04-18-2009, 01:21 PM
A haunting and wonderful poem - I can read it over and over and read something new in it :). You really have a way with words and feelings.

Thanks for sharing, Sapphire

a_little_wisp
04-20-2009, 08:25 PM
What's this, what's this! I forgot to check for comments!!

Skib - oh, thank you so much! That's so much more than I deserve, really. As for what I write, sometimes it's so personal that I don't always expect people to understand. Sometimes I write for others, sometimes... sometimes just for myself.

Sophia- thank you, darlin'! *Oils her wrist so she can keep writing* Is the new heart like the one the Tin Man got in the movie? That one is the neatest.

Beinvenu- Glad you thought it was neat! But the narrator wasn't quite me, talking about myself, but more my Heart talking about me. Sometimes, I suppose, I feel like I still have the heart to do things, but lack in everything else. Makes me feel broken, rusted. I love the poem!!!!! :D And yes, there will still be foxtrotting!

Sapphire - and thank you for reading and commenting!! I'm glad it's re-readable too! :D <3

~Sophia~
04-20-2009, 10:12 PM
The new ticker is just exactly like the one the Tin Man got and I must say, you wear it well!

Lokasenna
04-21-2009, 02:51 AM
Haunting and moving - I don't understand it all, but that is part of what makes it so excellent. Well done wisp!

firefangled
04-24-2009, 12:55 AM
When I have been away for awhile and the first page is filled and I find poems like this one on the second, it makes me glad I looked.

This makes me think of the interlude in To the Lighthouse, after the Ramsey's have left for the winter and the lighthouse beam wanders through the empty house along with the memories of what made it live. The house too waited for someone.

Very thought provoking indeed.

zanna
04-24-2009, 01:04 AM
Wow, wisp, I really enjoyed this! Thanks for sharing your talent here with all of us. =)