Soft and smooth, spilling as waves on board
I close my eyes though mindful of your glare,
as prejudice cuts through bone.
Silence seeps into the straining flesh, and
I wonder if conscience reached your ear,
as wind outside begins to howl.
I gaze upon the blood moon, as yesterday
broods alone in the shadows, loitering
where our kind never goes.
Photo credits: Man Ray (1929)
Posted for “Camera Flash” @ Real Toads
& on the ‘Poetry Pantry’ @ Poets United
58 Responses
broody, moody. i like this howl.
Thank you so much, Angie 😀 so glad you liked it ❤️
I love how you focused on her closed eyes rather than the hair… too many glares of prejudice to stand…
Thank you so much, Bjorn 😀 so glad you liked it ❤️
This is nice, I loved this line… ‘I wonder if conscience reached your ear’.
Thank you so much, Ted 😀 so glad you liked it ❤️
I too like how you focused on her eyes instead of her hair. They look rather bruised, don’t they?
Definitely 🙂 I was drawn by them as I wrote down this poem. Thanks for stopping by, Toni ❤️
I close my eyes though mindful of your glare,
as prejudice cuts through bone.
Those with beautiful locks are not spared of snide comments by those envious!
Hank
Definitely 🙂 thanks for stopping by, Hank ❤️
Such a contrast to Shay’s sassy girl, your beauty comes across as romantic and, although you start with her hair, you’ve focused on her eyes, Sanaa, which are closed in the first stanza but open in the final stanza, where she gazes on the blood moon. I love that such a beauty can also be a werewolf that howls at the moon and loiters ‘where our kind never goes’. I particularly love the phrase ‘broods alone in the shadows’, which lends the poem extra darkness.
Oh gosh!❤️ Thank you so much, Kim 😀 so glad you enjoyed it!❤️
where our kind never goes… intriguing take on the image!
Thank you so much, Rajani 🙂 so good to see you ❤️
I love the atmosphere you create here.
Thank you so much, Jae 🙂 so glad you liked it ❤️
Ha…prejudice and conscience can’t go together. Well put Sanaa.
Definitely 😀 thanks for stopping by, Sumana ❤️
This is such a striking narrative, Sanaa, more so because you leave a lot up to the imagination of the reader. The speaker’s self-awareness conveys so much of what being a victim does to the pysche. That final stanza is sheer brilliance.
Awww gosh!❤️ Thank you so much, Kerry 😀 so glad you liked it!❤️
(and thank you for the lovely prompt)
inspirational interpretation – as the saying goes’ what the eyes don’t see the heart does not grieve over’ but you have given her so much vision.
Thank you so much, Laura 😀 so good to see you ❤️
I really think that last stanza is my favorite. The unwillingness to go back to yesterday, and only looking forward. Where our kind lends me to believe that as separate as the speaker and the other feel, they are not much different from one another.
Thank you so much, X 😀 so glad you liked it ❤️
Ooh this felt hauntingly brilliant. I could juxtapose the image with your words, Sanaa and feel a bit scary while also beautiful at the same time. Thank you.
Thank you so much, James 🙂 so glad you liked it ❤️
Ah, the last line is kind of chilling, as it gives the poem a spooky feel!
Thank you so much, Mary 😀 so glad you liked it ❤️
Prejudice is terribly sharp blade, a dirty one that damages everything it cuts and rots the hand it holds it.
Definitely 🙂 thanks for stopping by, Magaly ❤️
Luv the closed eyes and contemplation motifs Sanaa. Excellent expression..
Much💖love
Thank you so much, Gillena 🙂 so glad you liked it ❤️
Wonderful! I especially love the strong closing stanza. I also wonder if peoples’ consciences bother them when they are acting with prejudice. I imagine they justify themselves in their narrow thinking, but I cant relate.
Thank you so much, Sherry 😀 so glad you liked it ❤️
An interesting take on the image, fo using on the eyes, clever.
Thank you so much, John 🙂 so good to see you ❤️
You did an interesting response to the image!
Thank you so much, Annell 😀 so good to see you ❤️
Oh this is dark and moody….howl indeed…that image mixed with your words is amazing!
Thank you so much, Donna 😀 so glad you enjoyed it ❤️
“as prejudice cuts through bone” That is as stark a description of the agony of prejudice I have ever read. Great writing!
Thank you so much, Susie 🙂 so glad you liked it ❤️
This is chilling, in a haunting sense, because there is a quiet gentleness, a softer tone, as others have noted, a sense of the romantic, but beneath this, there runs a current that is powerfully strong, free-willed and wild. It will run as it will, without damming. And that magically comes through in this carefully versed and worded piece. Fascinating.
Thank you so much, Pat 🙂 so glad you enjoyed it ❤️
Somehow with the words blood and howl in the mix, I think this is haunting, good for Halloween.
Thank you so much, Colleen 🙂 so good to see you ❤️
Interesting take on the picture….enigmatic!.
Thank you so much, Cressida 😀 so glad you liked it ❤️
‘as prejudice cuts through bone’ – an impactful, eloquent line of poetry.
Thank you so much, Wendy 😀 so glad you liked it ❤️
Prejudice does cut through bone. Powerful piece.
Thank you so much, Mary 😀 so good to see you ❤️
I like how you express the absurdity of prejudice. Great poem Sanaa.
Thank you so much, Myrna 🙂 so glad you liked it ❤️
Our kind…. leaves questions unanswered in a great way.
Thank you so much, Marian 😀 so glad you liked it ❤️
Thanks for linking your poem to Monday WRites Sanaa
Much💖love
My pleasure, Gillena ❤
much love…