Thursday 15 April 2010

Wicked Thoughts!

Glimpsed its face,
Didn't mind its own business
As an innocent would
With eyes turned skywards, or
Down, inspecting fingernails.
No, it met my flash of recognition
With malicious glee.
Wet, bulging orbs stared back at me.

Shame, like an egg cracked on my head,
Slithered down to my shoulders.
A cold shawl warped my flesh.

“Everyone has bad days,” they said.
“Nothing's as bad as you imagine.”

Do they know how its breath stinks, and
Now, I must lift it and suckle that bite.
Clutch it close,
Like the secret.

Only you helped me, when you told me
“We all have vile babies, you know.
We spend parenthood justifying their need for oxygen..”

How I laughed.

3 comments:

Ami said...

Hi Mavis :) I think the changes you made helped the clarity, but I'm having a little trouble interpreting these two lines:

Do they know how its breath stinks, and
Now, I must lift it and suckle that bite.

Is 'it' the wicked thought, personified? If so, my take is that you're trying to ease the guilt, as somebody eases the pain of a cut by sucking on it. That's my interpretation, anyway. :) I really like the poem, even though I've never personally had any wicked thoughts myself. ;)

John said...

Of course you didn't, Ami :)

Mavis, I don't fully understand the poem but something inside me likes it. I really like the description of the 'innocent.' Did the 'wicked thought' bring the shame or vice versa?

Carolyn said...

I have no idea what the poem means to you but I do love the way you have with words, very descriptive and thouught provoking. I like this part: 'Everyone has bad days,' they said,' nothing's as bad as you imagine.' But some things are that bad. To me, it seems you are saying the 'wicked thought' or whatever turned its innocent eyes, created a shame that others might see.

I'm still thinking about the 'vile babies' part. :)