Breathless beneath a glimmering moon,
Lie as troubled waters kiss my lips shut.
Unsullied, as a rose, I plead and protest
I, shatter dawn, with a piercing screech.
With madness flushed among the vines,
Sought, to perceive, with crystalline cry.
The heart inflicted bears tales of horror,
I, choke on trepidation, a septic stream.
Believe only shades of grey make up life
Oh! long to recover, a struggle to escape
Pristine as an orchid gather my strength
I swirl, across pond, with song and seed.
‘I have no mouth and I must scream.’
Photo credits: Pinterest
Posted on Poems in April @ Real Toads
and on Dark Poetry for Cruellest Month
The structure of this poem–especially the last lines of the first and second stanzas–is brilliant. The pause between the “I” and the rest of the line makes us feel that we are drowning with her, losing our breath… And when we get to the end and understand why. Powerful, Sanaa.
Thank you so much, Magaly 😀 so glad you liked it ❤️
Mesmerising words. A silent scream that speaks so many words XXX
Thank you so much, Gina 🙂 so good to see you ❤️
I agree with Magaly! I felt I was drowning, suffocating as I read your words! You accomplished beautifully the real feel of outrage for me!
Thank you so much, Sharon 🙂 so glad you liked it ❤️
I lost my breath sometime during the first line and didn’t realize until I had to gasp for air. Felt like I was drowning along with her… Powerfully written!
Thank you so much, Esther 🙂 so glad you liked it ❤️
Very beautiful writing. I especially love the closing stanza. The image is very beautiful too.
Thank you so much, Sherry 😀 so glad you liked it ❤️
It made me think of Ophelia and madness drowned her mind before the water claimed her body.
Oh gosh 😀 Thank you so much, Rommy❤️ so glad you liked it 😀
It may be just me but there is hope in the last line of the final stanza…song and seed.
There definitely is ❤️ thanks for stopping by, Paul 🙂
Wow! The septic stream really drove the message home for me.
Thank you so much, Kerry 😀 so glad you liked it ❤️
I love that comma at “I, shatter dawn.”
I think she is becoming just that, a “shatter dawn.” A breaking. A release, and a new beginning. I simply love this.
Thank you so much, De 😀 so glad you liked it ❤️
(I love that particular stanza too! 🙂 )
Silent screams are the most terrifying… This is haunting.
Thank you so much, Susie 🙂 so glad you liked it ❤️
Every detail builds inexorably. We know there is no reprieve for her. I too thought of Ophelia (though she had voice for random singing).
Thank you so much, Rosemary 😀 so glad you liked it ❤️
Wow, Sanaa! The silent scream is most haunting. How powerfully captured the horrors that inflict a heart, and I choked too with this line: “I, choke on trepidation, a septic stream.” Well-written, like the structure too.
Aww!❤️ Thank you so much, Khaya 😀 so glad you liked it!❤️
Just brilliant! It reminds me of trying to scream when in a dream… wanting to escape the nightmare but impossible to find your voice.. powerful!
Thank you so much, Shelle 😀 so glad you liked it ❤️
Somehow I perceive a personification of a dandelion seed and fuzz, with justification coming at the end, “with song and seed.” Am I close?
This was a nice write, Sanaa, making a nice read. Always alert to decode the movement in the episode.
..
Thank you so much, Jim 🙂 so glad you liked it ❤️
(It could be that)
‘I have no mouth and I must scream.’
That is such a great line! And it sums up one of the major problems with the world right now… so many feel they have no voice.
Thank you so much, Emma 🙂 so glad you liked it ❤️
I am reminded of Ophelia in this poem and of how she must as felt before the waters claimed her. Very powerful — and potent reminder of why we should revive Ophelia and listen to her voice.
Thank you so much, Ashtoreth 🙂 so glad you liked it ❤️