Enough Sugar Coat

Related image


“We forget all too soon the things we thought we could never forget.
We forget the loves and the betrayals alike, forget what we whispered
and what we screamed, forget who we were.”
― Joan Didion, Slouching Towards Bethlehem


The never forget we so carefully place
on our tongues and in tissue boxes
gathers the same dust as last year’s
Christmas cards.

We are collectors of passion, outrage,
offenses, a museum of emotions.
Sulfur here, water there, hypocrisy’s offspring
stuck on wash, rinse, and repeat.

Fade in our bloom, lose what we should find…
It makes no sense, but we spin it through a few adjectives
and thin excuses until there’s enough sugar coat to keep us blind.

©Susie Clevenger 2018

Real Toads ~ Tuesday Platform



Comments

rallentanda said…
Hmmmm...you think? Europeans tend to bear grudges for centuries....never forget anything.Maybe it's more an Anglosaxon thing.
May 2, 2018 at 2:52 AM
Vivian Zems said…
Ah! Love this bit '... hypocrisy’s offspring
stuck on wash, rinse, and repeat'

True words here. Liking this one!
May 2, 2018 at 3:46 AM
ayala said…
Ah... we forget. Sometimes we forgives but remember in the back of our minds. We carry on because it’s a part of life,
May 2, 2018 at 5:58 AM
Marian said…
Oh, man. Yes, yes, never ever forget. Skip the sugar.
May 2, 2018 at 1:37 PM
brudberg said…
I sometimes we have way to much space to store all those emotions... maybe we should just clean out the dust.
May 2, 2018 at 2:25 PM
Rommy said…
We don't forget as much as we excuse. And sometimes excusing is a kindness while other times it is as you point out, hypocrisy.
May 2, 2018 at 4:11 PM
Anonymous said…
It's weird when that moment comes, if it comes, for some, surely it never does, when you realize that the biggest relationship you're in is with yourself and it's so co-dependent and co-enabling, and the biggest lies, are the ones you tell yourself, over and over .... and the face of hypocrisy is such a brilliant diamond. And you're wearing it like an albatross.

but then, life is a delicate balance of subtle re-adjustments .... we forgive, sometimes, we forget, we make excuses, and of course, we turn it all inside out, outside in ...
sometimes, I just think, "wow, are we a social experiment gone horribly wrong" ... but then, reading a poem like this, which really just is snap full of great words and phrases, and is so wonderfully layered, makes me think, well - if anything, there is the body of works and words and "us" that can continue ... to face and undo the "faces" ... and this has to be worth something positive ....

I really like your piece Susie. It packs a wonderful "wallop" ...
May 3, 2018 at 6:31 PM
Post a Comment