Fragments of a Former Self
This isn’t as painful as I thought,
The self-surgical extraction
Carried out with surprisingly steady hands
And steeled determination.
The skin—the outer layer—
Sliced surface-deep all around
The leathery mask falls off in a heap—
My face, raw rivulets of red.
Crimson colors create
A painting with strokes
Sublimely placed in full view
Of cognitively dissonant minds
Housed in cavernous hills
Beneath ominous ontological skies.
Familiar figures now lay me down
And open the shutter
That hides away the nova’s light—
Radiantly bright white light
Illuminating the areas left to
Illuminating the areas left to
Slice and peel away.
Section by section overtaken
And surgically removed from me
As I lie there—stiff—
Oozing profusely into puddles
Of unrecognizable uniformity,
Unifying my detractors
In their gruesome gorging
Of my remaining essence.
This devilish demise—
Friends, you must realize—
Comes at the cost of compromise
On the foundation
Of who you are.
Beware the shining star
That claims from afar
To know who
You
Are.
Unless,
Like with me,
You wish to find yourself
Dissected—all your parts on a shelf—
Lying in a crimson, plasma sea
Of all the living things
You had hoped
To be.
Like me—
Drowning in the static sea,
Filled with the floating grizzle and gore
Of who I used to be.
A shadowy, sullen, shade
A shadowy, sullen, shade
Haunting the prison hallways
Of others’ hopes
And dreams.
© 2024 Tristan Robert Lange. All rights reserved.
-
Author:
Tristan Robert Lange (
Offline) - Published: October 21st, 2024 00:45
- Category: Unclassified
- Views: 11
- Users favorite of this poem: aDarkerMind
Offline)
Comments4
Why did I read this just before dinner - it's put me off food now! lol. Plus a bit of ontological stuff *gets out dictionary*.
So, this is bitter sweet for me. I am on the one end, terribly sorry about ruining your dinner...but YAY, my poem delivered! LOL! All jokes aside, thank you so much for reading and "digesting" this, especially before dinner! I always appreciate your engagement, my friend! 🙏
As I read this I think of an onion the surface shell then another beneath and another until reaching center there is no more. Thought provoking with strong imagery that evokes strong visceral reactions.
Yes! Exactly! Peeling way the layers, starting with the surface, until in the end there's nothing left! Thank you so much for reading and providing your take on it! Much appreciated! 🙏🖤❤️🖤
Excellent
Thank you Tony! Glade it resonated!
You're welcome Tristan
rather than my telling you what a wonderful work of art this is....
I would suggest you stand back and enjoy the applause Tristan.
bitter sweet at it's very best.
and yes, your poem delivered!
Wow! Thank you so much, kind sir. I will do just that, but honestly, it truly humbles me to see my poem get this reaction. I guess all poems are personal to one extent or another, but this one is deeply personal to me. Again, thank you so very much for honoring me in this way! I am humbled.
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