Sunday, June 10, 2012

A BLACK-WEBBED CLAW













The bluffs in all their pristine cathedral-like wonder
Call with a persistence that haunts me day and night
In that shadow time that is neither dreaming  nor waking
I go there and crawl through the mud on a beach stained indigo

The stones of my childhood run black with blood and tears
An old willow trembles,  weeps dead snakes and impossible dreams
And tiny lighted vessels set off from the shore with all the people
I have ever loved aboard and waving under the light
Of a sickly moon, a double corona'd moon so lopsided
I wonder if it's the moon at all and not just some imposter nailed
Into the sky and in the time it takes to wonder this

The tiny vessels  drift so far out in the lake; I can't reach
Them;  now they are ablaze and all aboard are screaming—
I keep brushing at my face as if spider webs are blinding me
If I can just get free of them I will wake up and everyone will be saved.

S.E.Ingraham©



15 comments:

  1. So vivid... glad it was a dream. I especially like:

    And tiny lighted vessels set off from the shore with all the people
    I have ever loved aboard and waving under the light
    Of a sickly moon, a double corona'd moon so lopsided
    I wonder if it's the moon at all and not just some imposter nailed
    Into the sky

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  2. Oh, I hate those type of dreams where you know you're dreaming but, you can't wake up. Awful. This sounds like exactly one of those.
    Very vivid, glad it was a dream. A great read, thanks :)

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  3. Wow, what a nightmare! Hope I never have a dream that dark. Powerful use of the wordle.

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  4. First read through and I only spotted corona - because it gave me fits as to where to place it. Those nightmares where you can't wake, because you thought you were already awake. Eek! I latch onto the thing I know is wrong as my safety like the back yard out the window is shaped wrong...sometimes though I have to try several times before actually waking. Good visual of night distress. Great use of the wordles. Thanks for your visit. Maybe the next set of words somewhere will lead to another episode of my heroine :) - I like that bit of suspense.

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  5. Holy cow! Sharon, this is frightening and beautifully written.

    Pamela

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  6. Powerful write, Sharon. I love the darkness and dream qualities. It's gorgeous, and you took me there. Your imagery is fantastic. I like the flaming vessels on the lake.

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  7. WAKE UP! ;)

    Retelling a dream can be difficult when things are disjointed. But the telling of this dream was well done.

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  8. That's the kind of intense nightmare that will stay with you long after you wake up. Very vivid and visual writing.

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  9. Wow! That was a little frightening. The last line made me exhale in relief. Nice work on this. Thanks for stopping by and reading mine. :)

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  10. Whew. What a nightmare. Goodness. This is vividly told, Sharon.
    I'm a sucker for anything with the word indigo in it, but this is just beautifully put:
    "crawl through the mud on a beach stained indigo"

    de
    whimsygizmo.wordpress.com

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  11. An eerie mystic night vision brings such wildly vivid imagery, Sharon. Very well penned, my friend!

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  12. Such great imagery, the willow weeping "dead snakes" and the impostor moon "nailed / Into the sky". Very powerful, that mix of impossible things and that dream "logic" that makes it make sense while it's happening.

    Richard

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  13. Sharon, your imagery in this is amazing. Also, love your corona use.

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  14. Sharon- you have created a dream that you want to forget immediately, but your mind keeps going back to. Your use of sensory images are amazing; especially the indigo shore and the spider webs that won't let you go.

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  15. Thanks all - this came to me suddenly while I was writing a much more pastoral bit lauding my beloved Scarborough bluffs ... as I often say - the muse wants what the muse wants - well, she definitely wasn't in the mood for any pretty picture of my childhood cliffs, she was out for blood and blood she got ... I appreciate that you came, read and put in your remarks, as always very helpful.

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