“He who jumps into the void owes no explanation to those who stand and watch.” – Jean Luc Godard
Why?
Why did I pitch myself
Into it,
Headfirst off the diving board
Into the kiddie pool,
Why did I ignore the words at my feet:
Shallow water?
When the bottom is one-dimensional
I convince myself I can peel back
Its husk and hit another layer.
I stare into blank concrete
And think
There has to be more to this.
I clutch a phone
And shout over its static
I think it’s trying to tell me something.
There are beginnings
At the end
Of endings.
I go in search of them.
Wait for me.
Why?
Because I’ll tell you what it looks like.
Let me be your window to Armageddon.
The blood from my recent diving accident
Has seeped through the floor
Into a ceiling beneath
And jesus god, it’s coloring
The sky.
*Update: I’ll be gone for a trip this upcoming week but will return January 2nd. Have a Happy New Year, everyone!
mywordpool 
Mind Blowing Title
Thank you! 😀
This is powerful as usual. BTW you are the only person to like my Silver Aura.
Thank you, Joanna! And I love that piece; it’s very haunting.
Happy New Year! Another great poem. Why jump? Because there are only three types of people–the people who make it happen, the people who watch it happen, and the people that wonder what happened. 🙂
Happy 2015! 🙂 Thank you so much! May we always be the people who make it happen.
Natalie,
From one who regularly high-dives into kiddy pools to another jumper: Have a good trip and a great New Year!
What a great poem. I read this to my kids after breakfast.
“A bit gruesome,” the younger said.
“Bloody but a nice poem,” said the older. He shrugged.
“It’s a metaphor,” I told them. “Not an actual diving accident.”
Home education at nine in the morning on Saturday when they’re ready to walk to the beach. Motherhood makes me sigh and want to jump again.
((HUGS))
Alice
Happy 2015, Alice! 🙂 I absolutely love this. Your kids’ choice of the adjectives “gruesome” and “bloody” gives me a sense of satisfaction – twisted as that may sound.
Here’s to dark, gory metaphors! May we read them, may we write them. Thanks for jumping into them with me.
Hope you had a great time ringing in the new year!
I’m glad to see you back in the blogsphere. Keep jumping in face first with those dark, gory metaphors and I’ll keep reading them to my kids.
Happy 2015 to you as well. 🙂
I just hope you weren’t sailing, what with that red sky in the morning thing… 😉 Fabulous write, by the way!
No, no sailing! 😉 The sky was beautiful, but it was blue – and I spent most of my time walking under it.
Thanks for reading, and Happy 2015!
Oh my lordy, this gave me chills. I now have goosebumps (:
I love getting chills after reading something. I’m glad this piece resonated with you in that way!