Iron Prayer


Bent knees in iron prayer,
I am in hell’s merry-go-round
that spins but never stops.

My hands that once held you
cling to prison bars wishing
the moon wasn’t stained with rust.

Sorrow raises its bitter fist
to strike my heart with loneliness.
Days pass, but I have lost the ability to count.

Each moment rides the darkness
of the one before trying to blind me.
My sanity hangs upon your name.

Regret wishes to cinch my neck,
but I reject its noose to walk
the other side of Eden.

I care not what others speak of me.
What I have done and what has been done to me
pour into my spirit to be absorbed and resurrected in peace.

Words have been my vehicle, but I tire
of the articulate sentences of men.
Nature is the mystic I now listen to.

I feel you leaving my spirit, my love.
Clinging to love time has divided
has broken our bond and I must release you.

Once I leave these prison walls society
will have no place for me at its table of rules,
but nature will wash me clean and hide me in her bosom.

My stumbling footprints of pain will succumb
to the wind and there will be no trail to follow.
I will weep under the stars until I am whole again.

  
©Susie Clevenger 2013

My poem was inspired by Oscar Wilde's De Profundis

You can find Marian Kent's poetic prompt at Real Toads ~ Freedom for Love

Comments

Susan said…
Pretty amazing! but then, so is the inspiration. You've made a great work of art!
Sherry Blue Sky said…
BRILLIANT, Susie! Your closing lines are especially glorious!!!!!!!!!!!
Kay L. Davies said…
Oh, Susie, you got right inside his head, right inside that prison. This is a wonderful work, especially the resolution...Nature can heal what Man rejects.
K
Hannah said…
The last line is perfection and the whole piece caries such a weight... at first this made me think of Paul. Well done!
Kerry O'Connor said…
This is rather heart-breaking. Of course, Wilde did not allow prison confinement to halt his writing, but his finest years of literary achievement were lost to the scandal.
Unknown said…
Wilde-spirited indeed. My favorite line (one of many) - "but I reject its noose to walk / the other side of Eden."
Marian said…
ohhh Susie. rust-colored moon. this is quite beautiful and i think a real accomplishment. bravo!

related, not really, but it reminds me... you're in TX, right? i'm a big fan of Steve Earle and he has a couple songs released in the time just after he was in prison that have this find of feel... like, he knows exactly how to write a pining love song. the most incredible pining for a lover you've disappointed by landing in prison in the first place, a lover you cannot see and who cannot see you but is "out there somewhere." he really had his finger on the pulse of that.

as do you in this lovely poem. :)
"Wishing the moon wasn't stained with rust..." Wilde, languishing in prison for something that is so far from a crime... for a way of being so misunderstood for so long... for pastors who preach on hell 'til that very moon runs red with the blood of self-righteous cowboy boots after kicking the shit out of a gay man... this was so powerful, Susie, and I loved the parchment style of your presentation! Amy
Helen said…
Susie, your poem is incredibly beautiful ....
Beautiful Susie! Oscar Wilde is one of my favorites and your close was just perfect.
Grace said…
"Nature is the mystic I now listen to."

Beautifully written Susie specially the last stanza ~ And I like imagery of your words/picture ~
Fireblossom said…
Those last two stanzas are really striking.