Poems to the Wounded

by Karla   Dec 4, 2012


1#
I am pregnant with different people.
If you look close to my skin,
you can see men and women
in my pores.
Their eyes have seen things
I can't name.
Their ears have listened to the music
of the oceans.
They are in me and I condemned them
to be my voice.

2#
Deep inside of me, there is a book
I read night after night hidden
in my bedroom when the stars
were my sisters. That book was my love
and my lover. I used to hug it but
not before making love to each letter,
each word, each page.
I stole it from a library when
books were whims of the insane.
That book grew into me like a tree
in a time of discovery and despair.
Whenever I look back I am more aware
that I didn't steal that book.
It was the book that stole my soul.

3#
I spent eighty-four months of my life,
only studying the History of my own country.
( it was as if everybody was in exile:
from Plato up to Roosevelt)
but it was us that were in exile.
I stared at my History teachers with disdain
as I repeated the same dusty names and dates
shaking my legs nervously, enumerating space.
Sometimes I thought their tongues were cut off
long before they could teach us how to think.
Then, little by little I started to pity them:
they were half winged scared beings.
I could see their hearts dying under a defibrillator
as they rehearsed the same old scripts.
When I left high school, I was free to love History
and contemplate it without my prayers and curses.
But now that I am old, I understand my teachers:
They are the proof of dictatorship's obscenity.

Karla Bardanza
http://karlabardanzapoems.blogspot.com
http://skycladatmidnight.tumblr.com
http://poeticpostcards.blogspot.com

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  • 11 years ago

    by The Queen

    This poem reminds me of how I felt back in high school. Being under pressure to memorize every date and piece of history made me hate my history teachers, too. It's funny though, that it took sometimes for us to truly enjoy the aspects of history. It wasn't until we were out of school, some of us, that we strived to delve into the past and relive the era.

    I find the opening line catchy and well, to say it's intriguing (and shocking?) would be an understatement. "I am pregnant with different people." One of the best opening lines I've come across so far.

    This poet always writes with vagueness yet imaginative enough to paint pictures and influence a reader's imagination. I find myself frequently hypnotized by her way with words for she never fails to share her experiences and let me feel the emotions within the poem.

    All three poems seem to be connected to each other, each taking up an idea expressed in the one before. I love the poignant ending lines of the third poem, "But now that I am old, I understand my teachers: They are the proof of dictatorship's obscenity." Lines that will linger to haunt you long after you have finished reading them.

  • 11 years ago

    by Meena Krish

    Each verse has a voice where the reader can
    picture herself with it...each one touches the reader and there is no favorite as I like it all...well done and congrats on the win!

  • 11 years ago

    by Poet on the Piano

    Karla, I don't think I've read your poetry in a few weeks or it could be longer than that, I just have to say how much my heart got into this piece. I love how it is in the life category too because you told such a unique story before that left me breathless! I'm so honored to share the front page with you and I am super happy this won too. What I loved too was how you separated the stanzas, almost like having a part 1, 2 and 3. I enjoyed it a bunch and your voice speaks like no other here, it seems so tangible.

    Your first stanza, I literally can read over and over again and still not get enough of it- it can never get old reading it. The first line grabbed me and I absolutely love how you used "pregnant" too. I once used it in my English class freshmen year high school for a description about the sun.....because it can be such a strong visual to have. This was so intriguing and it made me think that all these people can be seen through you because they resemble parts of you or you resemble parts of the world.

    I can only begin to have an idea about how moving this poem is just from being on the outside and looking into read this, but I loved how you made this history passion. That, in no way was this book something you picked up or stole, it took you first, it has a part of your soul with it.

    I also like the restlessness you portray later when listening to your teachers- I think we all have a hunger for learning, or this curiosity, - and that comparison of reusing an old script got me, because history should be more than just the textbooks. And that last line, bringing the reality of a dictatorship just made me sit and think a bit, wondering what that would really be like.

    So beautiful and expressive beyond measure. I'm sorry I wrote so much- I was speechless after it like the others above said, I've just never reading anything like this and I really feel like you reached out here and touched this readers with this moment, this piece of memory and passion. Very well-deserved win of course, keep writing :)

  • 11 years ago

    by Decayed

    I wonder why I didn't comment on this... Karla, you remind me of many Arabian poets... Just awesome...

    Congrats on the win.
    Much Deserved!

  • 11 years ago

    by Darren

    Quite simply another masterpiece from the master.

    I have to nominate this.

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