hidden below the city where
words sound hollow,
your promises reverberate
off the underside of my
cheekbones, slip past the left
internal jugular and graze
the nerve sheath tying my eyes
to my ability to reason. i blink twice,
blankly, flounder a little on
the stonework through which our
footsteps echo, trying to connect
to the back of my head and that
tiny spot of cortex recognizing
truth from shadows; a place where
secrets were made to be kept.
the tenth muse 
how beautiful,
footsteps echo,
love the line…
🙂
nice- really nice.. 🙂
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I love your imagery and rich use of words. Each one needs to be read and articulated. Rich. Thank you. And thanks for visiting my blog. I look forward to reading more of your writing. – Bill
This paints a vivid picture in my head. The details are perfect.
Very nice, I love the metaphor of the parts of the body and the mix between stark realism and obvious fantasy.
“your promises reverberate off the underside of my cheekbones” Excellent!
first, this is a wonderfully designed site.
second, I love the language on the poem, I felt the back of my neck pricle when reading.
I love how you made the process of thought and memory so visual. I loved the painting too.
i love your use of anatomical words. “promises reverberate off the underside of my cheekbones” is so beautifully written 🙂 thank you for sharing and for commenting on my piece!
I read the poem and went ‘huh, I wonder what the words were’.
Then I saw the title and smiled.
Very nice poem. I appreciate your visual imagery of the nerves, veins, and brain. Nicely done.
oy. i’m not used to all this attention. 🙂 thanks everyone, for stopping by; think i’ve seen recent posts by most everybody here, but may have missed a couple…i’ll be checking again later…
revbill, thanks for your kind words; sure i’ll be seeing–and reading–more of you.
Jingle and fiveloaf, you know you’re welcome any time.
Nevermoraven–let me just say I love your name. 🙂
…
jvolp, wondrinsoul, and blueplatypus (another nice name): applying medical-ish words to poetry is sometimes what i think i do best. (you could kinda say anatomy’s in my background). thanks.
mudwords, glad it came home in the end 🙂
greg, thanks for the site feedback. spent a lot of time making it look just so, and there are still spots i would like to tweak, wordpress permitting.
evangeline & Diamonds: thanks for stopping by. you are too kind.
Beautiful.
the stonework through which our
footsteps echo…love this line….
wonderful poem…
Very intense and wonderful 🙂
I think maybe you are depicting the physiological affects of holding a conversation… The chemicals firing as you make eye contact
the tenth muse–
You nailed it a perfect poem, and so aptly written. It invokes the feeling you get when someone is lying but cleverly disguises, but yet you just know.
Joanny
Joanny
from thursdays rally
http://thedowsersdaughter.blogspot.com/
thanks so much akneis, hoiden, Imagina.
1ntrospector–um, actually no, more like vague and somewhat random neurophysiological references to speech/vision/cognition. thanks for playing, tho. 🙂
joanny, loved the images called forth by your “amor brujo”; will have to go check out the other. thanks for stopping by.
–JSL
http://thursdaypoetsrallypoetry.wordpress.com/2010/07/23/the-perfect-poet-award-week-25/
u win perfect poet award on week 25,
Happy Friday!
Thanks Jingle, am flattered. will get right to pasting and posting early next week!
posted under ‘awards’ with my first-ever Haiku. thanks again, Jingle!
I like the way you described different bodyparts in this poem.
Gives it a human aspect
I find this cerebral and full of incredible imagery. Love it! Very well done 🙂
Oh wow.. this was just plain brilliance!!!
You’ve characterized a lie so beautifully that it doesn’t appear all that bad..
Besides, like you said, it’s we that make the decision anyway.. in that tiny thing called cortex, where we distinguish between the blacks and whites, the rights and wrongs..
I think this was very artistically done by you! Awesome!
love the images in this piece!
Pamela
Beautifully penned, beautifully framed, beautifully used words! Tat was simply beautiful
Congrats! 🙂
You can find Posts here:
http://vishurocks.wordpress.com/
thanks for dropping by, k (of artswebshow fame); always a pleasure. 🙂
Alejandra, pamela: you’re making me blush!
Kavita, i’m beyond blushing now; wow. you nailed it in one. 🙂 😉
vishu, thanks so much; i’ll be by your place to check it out soon.
cheers all, and happy weekend!
JSL
great imagery and well titled 🙂
You have an amazing talent. The way you weave your words caused me to dance in thought with you. Have lost, half intrigued, sprinkle with admiration, you have done something incredible here. I absolutely love your medical language here. I really enjoyed your poem.
Your photography is amazing and your words are beautiful. 🙂
Love the new look….
It appears to be working for you!
Peace
ziibi, thanks on both counts!
splashofexpression (like the name, btw) 😉 wow. your comment is a poem in itself. thank you so much!
and bindo, it’s good to see you back around here, thought you’d gone off to the land of fiction and left us for good… 😉
cheers,
JSL
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What I love about this poem is the collaboration of the unfulfilled promises with the body parts. Wonderful description of emotions through physicality.
thanks, autumn. being able to paint an abstract form/thought/idea/emotion through concrete images is one of the things i love most about poetry.
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i am struck my “graze the nerve sheath tying my eyes to my ability to reason” … what a vivid notion!
intriguing contrast (shadow vs. truth) i hadn’t though them in opposition. verity vs. veil, i suppose … ok, i’ll go along …
secrets ARE gems who grow dearer each day they are kept unlike the ones which are not, they devalue each time they are divulged and maybe, eventually, launch an urban legend? ha!
again, i love the ambiguity of the conceit … below the city? in the “tiny spot of cortex”? …
nice little gem!
thanks so much, noxalio; i think the notion i had in mind with the “truth from shadows” was not so much one of opposition (although that could also be argued, as you point out) as one that the truth, somehow, should stand out from amongst the rest, have a bit more shine to it maybe. not literally of course (since oft times truth is much uglier than her sisters, no?). 🙂
anyway, appreciate the comment, and glad you liked the piece.
cheers!
jsl
ah, truth (and ugliness – or in fact beauty – two, out of first three of Adler’s Great Ideas – third of the triplets being ‘goodness’ – regarding which i’ve often wondered why with such a rich language as English there’s not a ‘better’ word for … hmmm) … often in tension with their respective compliments … as certainty and doubt can be in ones resigned toward empathy such as, ahhm, me, (and maybe, always should, for good measure or if you have a penchant for a certain amount of angst or some such absurd sentiment – ha!) …
Joanna, i like your poetry and am glad to have stumbled upon some of it here. i look forward to more … soon?
oh, i meant to ask, do you showcase photography elsewhere?
noxy
hmm. you know, i think i do have a penchant for a certain amount of angst… 😉
“truth” has come up a lot lately in poetic circles ’round here. beginning to think poets in general cradle the concept with gentle ambiguity– as if she were a glass -spun courtesan and we’re not quite sure yet what to make of her.
i’m always, glad to hear your thoughts, noxy, and to check out your poetry likewise. if you’re looking for more from me, the most recent post is “Frozen,” which you can find on the homepage here. looking to add another piece in the (very) near future.
as far as photography, i have the page on Flickr, which there is a link to at the bottom here somewhere as well, and also at imagekind.
cheers,
🙂
joanna