Bygones

by sibyllene   Feb 26, 2012


Tonight I'm sipping nostalgia bitterly
from a chipped mug. Hunched over,
my feet nested beneath me, I click
through photographs, a year in a minute.

It's the stodgy old indulgence of reanimating
a memory. At the time I was
thinking about lunch, about blisters on
my ankle, about every tomorrow. Feeling
nothing at all because there was too much to feel.

Only now do I realize the milky sunshine,
the ocean-wet wind, feel the rush of green,
touch the morning splashing off that
red door, there. Only there, only in the split
second it takes to pass me by.

My life is shoved wantonly into those moments
where the camera blurred, where
rain misted the lens and mud shone
like velvet, where the sun
glared and punctured my memories
with dribbled prisms of
accident.

Why is it so easy
to choke, to drown in every moment
but this one? I'm always
just safe out of the frame, a hint
of an old story
and no
more.

4


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Latest Comments

  • 12 years ago

    by Yakari Gabriel

    "Tonight I'm sipping nostalgia bitterly
    from a chipped mug"

    I think the very intro made the whole poem for me, there was no need for more.
    there, one phrase. and it satisfied all the poetic greed I could ever have.

    hesus santisimo (holy jeezus)
    woman, how do you do it? how?!

    well, excuse my rambling but I feel it would only be fair of me to explain to you why just that phrase,

    you see... not to you know, cause you know the whole poem was good, heck what good, gorgeous. the title fitted perfectly.. but see this has more to do with my mother than me.

    she HATES chipped mugs, she's always complaining that I have to be careful when doing dishes, cause If I chip the mugs then they will no longer be useful, that they bring misery, that yadadada and all her latin conspiracy..

    so when I saw this particular phrase,
    I linked it with that, and I thought..

    Damn,Imagine how miserable the feeling at that very instant must have been..

    to me this poem
    must be one of the most vulnerable writes I've seen from you (and I tend to stalk your writes, no kidding)

    its like you poured your soul here.
    amazing write Rose! :P

  • 12 years ago

    by Schrodingers cat

    Just one word....Wow!!!

  • 12 years ago

    by Timothy

    Such sorcery consumes my knowledge. This poem inspires me, in its fullest meaning. Stanza three line eleven introduced such 'bitter nostalgia' in my mind that one was choice-less in the acceptance of its brilliance.

  • 12 years ago

    by Nichole

    This poem is amazing! I see your point and i know where you are coming, this is absolutely beautiful. So many people just ignore the big stuff in life only to realize that the small stuff was better left alone.:( i have been there time after time and this poem really does show just how unexpected life can be... Again extremely beautiful!

  • 12 years ago

    by Sunshine

    Bygones
    By Sibyllene

    When I read this I was astounded by the quality, it is without a doubt one of the best I have read, merely for its messages and absolutely flawless flow, not to mention the subtle emotion and the wording which is delicate yet strong. I felt that the message was that time slips away so quickly, and that we spend too long looking at the really big things but we never notice the little things that often are more important, and that at times we are caught up in the moment we forget to really stop and think for a minute about what is happening, we see the unimportant in life, and when we have time to reflect we regret what we never knew. (10)

    ----

    Such a stunning thought provoking piece. Sibyllene is able to evoke and take us beyond the mere words, as if to lift a veil to a new realm, to not merely peek but be enveloped, to share her inner thoughts, her inner self. Once again I find myself captivated and carried along by her finely crafted work. It is such a pleasure to read your poems
    (10