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And the walls bled By: Dorothy Marie on 4/22/2002; 6:24 PM Immured within red rigid walls Clinging to pillars of sun-bleached bone, the olive wood dries. Moistened by no caring eyes; They only drip drip drip with the incense swinging by Gone. Melt away from the holy clouds that rise to the rafters while we drip drip drip through the floors. Praise God! My God! Is this where You live? This hall of smoke and dreams dreams of leaving, dreams of sinning, dreams of nightmares in the pews appears to be in want in want. it creaks with sighs eternal and tired no peaceful death no rest What does it sigh? What, does it breathe? Now, straining eyes dry eyes looking staring straining to see the mystery there. No mystery. An altar. Soft red plush beating beating beating with the breathing of the walls Burning! Flowing fire like blood of desire! Desire to cry Desire to dream Desire to rest Desire to breathe Desire to desire. Faces melting sinews dropping drop on the ground like lavish robes. Wild arms flailing altars failing fail and fall upon the ground. Bone are creaking creaking weeping weeping as they breakdown. Down it falls with human walls Down it falls with blackened halls Blackened with the holy smoke the trails of soot now left behind in piles of dust once clay and straw once the earth in ashes lie. But, oh the smoke! The smoke! The smoke! Here we die upon the ground and watch the smoke rise and rise and fly up towards the heavenly sky. It wants no more, It found the hands Of the shepherd. To heavens rise! Now close the stars, we close our eyes perhaps, our breath like smoke will rise
RE: And the walls bled By: Rachelle King on 4/22/2002; 7:18 PM Dorothy, this piece is full of enticing imagery, but the message is somewhat obscure. Is this piece a commentary on religion. Your images of fire and smoke suggest that it might have something to do with the Palestinian suicide bombers. The image "dreams of nightmares in the pews" suggests a commentary on the Catholic Priests molesting alter children. The reference to "Holy Smoke" suggests that you are calling religion all hocus pocus. [Holy Smoke is a really good movie with Kate Winslet, by the way.] Like I said, you are using really potent imagery, but it is hard to understand what you are focusing in on. Maybe just adding one extra explanatory line would decrease the confusion, because I really like the piece as it is.
RE: And the walls bled By: Richard Davidson on 4/22/2002; 9:03 PM Your poem dripped right out of my monitor and onto my desk. Please remit the sum of $1.45 for cleaning. Religious symbolism is much harder to get out of wood than you would think. To me, sitting in mass, or is it Mass, was always exactly like tripping on way too much acid. I think your poem has bridged a gap between that which is easily seen and that which is not, for which you can easily be commended, but not by me, as I don't hand out such compliments freely. That would be $2.95, and you can see how dealing with me is going to be getting expensive after awhile. I think I better get off this page, before my PC catches fire and leaves The Smoke trailing through the air, now befouled with that wretched incense. Nice poem. I liked it.
RE: And the walls bled By: Chie Theresa Fujioka on 4/23/2002; 7:52 AM what did the chapel catch fire? *hope* or are we speaking martyrdom, and daily life and death? For... human hearts are an altar, our bodies a weary home for the spirit... creaking and without rest, and when they are destroyed, the spirit flies heavenbound, to the sheep-herd... yes i think this is what you speak of. and I am finding myself to be highly "in want"
RE: And the walls bled By: Dorothy Marie on 6/27/2002; 1:25 AM Wow, my poetry rarely gets this much commentary. I had no clue that anyone had written any responses. To Rachelle King: Stop trying to bring those outside political occurances into the poem and read it as it simply is. If I were to make a serious allusion to any of the aforementioned occurances, it would be very clear. Just view the words as they are. For example, not all fire and smoke refers to the bombing. And, the nightmares in the pews do not directly refer to Catholic priests' sins, but the general sins that take place within the church. And, I have never seen Hocus Pocus, but the "Holy smoke" is a sort of paradox, I suppose it could be called. If it is holy, it is supposed to be pure, but this "holy smoke" is blackening the walls of the church with ash, and that is supposed to instill an image of dirt and filth (the opposite of the clean connotation of "pure") in the mind of the reader. To Richard Davidson: No way are you getting $2.95 out of me. To Chie: On the nose, Chie. On the nose. :) (oh, and it's daily life and death)
RE: And the walls bled By: Dorothy Marie on 6/27/2002; 1:27 AM And I just thought to clarify a little bit more that this poem basically likens the physical church to human bodies, or its own congregation, linking the church and people (including the sins and imperfections of both).
RE: And the walls bled By: Matthew Patterson on 6/28/2002; 1:55 AM Huh. I somehow missed this one at first. Let it be known that this was posted on my birthday this year. Other things that happen on my birthday:
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