Twelve: Free Poetry

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Twelve lashes for my wayward tongue; twelve pleas for him to stop ...

Today’s post is a dark poem I wrote for the Phenomenal Womxn Annual Anthology. Copies of their anthology may be obtained from their website. All proceeds fund future womxn-centered events and their arts summer camp for adolescent girls and femmes.

Twelve

Twelve lashes
for my wayward tongue;
twelve pleas
for him to stop.

Twelve scars
upon my back;
twelve prayers
for peace in Death.

Twelve mushrooms
picked and washed;
for twelve minutes
I stir and fry.

Twelve gulps
he takes to eat them;
twelve breaths
until Death comes.

Peace.

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29 thoughts on “Twelve: Free Poetry”

  1. In violent fields, no eye is on the sparrow. It flits amidst the rage of sling and arrow. And though to it no refuge calls, still, it beats its wings until to earth it falls a breathless thing. How frail a thread sustains the worriers’ fate; too soon it yields neath weight of mortal wound, and sparrows lie in fields like buds that never bloomed.

    I’m a seventy-three-year-old veteran and wanted to share my poem as a thank-you for sharing your site. This poem is also in honor of my six buddies on the Wall in Washington.
    Peace

  2. That was a powerful and painful poem Kathy. Aside from the subject matter – well done! 🙂

  3. This is indeed dark, sad, and painful. Sent a shiver down my spine but the opening lines reminded me of some injustices done in many countries in the Middle East.

  4. Kathy, you have captured the horror of the woman’s trapped lived experience. My heart goes out to her. I want her to find a safe refuge. Sadly, her story is all too common in the United States and around the world. I have had a similar relationship, two of them, in fact. The memories emerge at the start of every new relationship. Thank you for sharing your poem. It needs to be shared. I wish you the very best in 2021 and beyond.

    • Thanks, Billie. No woman should ever have to suffer this way.

      Thanks for stopping by, and I hope you have a healthy and productive 2021.

    • Thanks, Felicia. I considered writing it in a way that would leave it up to readers to decide whether the man or the woman ate the mushrooms.

      • I took it as her feeding the mushrooms to him, and at last finding peace. However, the other way works quite well too with her fear and inner pain leading her to find peace another way.

        Excellent writing!

        • Thanks, Felicia!

          Yes, she fed him the mushrooms, but I could have left it ambiguous by changing one word:

          Twelve gulps
          it takes to eat them;
          twelve breaths
          until Death comes.

          Hmm. Decisions, decisions.

  8. Very dark! It’s not something I feel I can ‘like’. It’s not that kind of poem, but I think it’s very poweful.

  9. This is absolutely fabulous Kathy. I have endures similar experiences and feelings before in my life. Most people, without enduring the same would find this horrendous. I love that you’ve hit the nail on the head in a way that helps the reader to really FEEL and understand the issue. You’re amazing. Thanks so much for sharing.

  12. It’s dark but gets the message across. It’s not only nice to tell how to do a thing but wonderful to be able to demonstrate how to write and leave different messages. I am writing about the ability to write effectively and not about the content of the message.

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