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Friday 10 February 2012

near his heart

He worshipped her -
but never said.
Photographed her -
secretly.
Had them ranged beside his bed.

Three times life size
her torsos stood,
lolled, twisted
into shapes he'd fantasized.

Marshmallow flesh,
her favourite sweet.
Pure white or pink
but stalked the way a fungus is.

Half life size
soft focus limbs
swallowed by a background haze.

Smaller still the tiny heads -
sponge again
puffballs he said
eyes half closed
and vulva-like.
His montage built with... what?
He called it love.

The day he called
to take her out
he found her gone,
her and the
family moved on.
The house the emptiest of shells,
an echo chamber full of boom
echoing his empty thoughts.
Hollow thoughts
that boomeranged.

He hurried home.
Then round
(in truth, just on)
his favourite neck
(the stalky one belonging to
her revelling in snow)
he super-glued
the thin wire noose
he'd carried near his heart

16 comments:

Cloudia said...

spooky and mundane. quite an achievement.


"Foreboding"


Warm Aloha from Waikiki
Comfort Spiral

> < } } ( ° >

Elephant's Child said...

Nasty and truly effective. I like the juxtaposition to Valentines Day as well.

Elisabeth said...

This reminds me of the film, Lars and the Real Girl, a beautiful film, well matched by your haunting poem, Dave. Though yours is perhaps more sinister. Thanks.

Mary said...

Eerie, Dave!

haricot said...

This suggests some aspect of one's love. To love truely is so difficult that many want to almost escape from it and instead they tend to have obsession.( my comment on the last comment disappeared. I wish this one wont)

MISH said...

The many 'faces' of love - this one deep and ominous... definitely obssessive too *shudders*

Kass said...

"...Stalked the way fungus is."

This whole poem is a delightfully weird tale of obsessive love.

Tommaso Gervasutti said...

Hollow thoughts
that boomeranged.

Powerful lines, a poem with an eerie intensity.

Windsmoke. said...

Delightfully haunting poem on obsessive love :-).

Cait O'Connor said...

Creepy but great poem.

Kat Mortensen said...

I really like this. For me it has echoes of one of my favourite poems, Browning's "Porphyria's Lover". Well done, Dave.
I like the subtle word choices too, the "stalked" and "vulva". I'll remember this one, for sure.

jabblog said...

For the girl it is a lucky escape, I think. Such obsession is unhealthy.

Dave King said...

Cloudia
Hi, and thanks.

The Elephant's Child
Hi. a warm welcome to you. Good to have your comments.

Elisabeth
I'm afraid I don' t know the film, though even the title is intriguing. I shall look out for it.

Mary
Thanks - I think!

haricot
An intriguing thought you put forward. I hadn't thought of it quite like that before. Thanks.

Mish
Hi, Good to have your thoughts. Welcome and many thanks for visiting.

Kass
Thanks Kass, appreciate the comment.

Tommaso
Good to know you thought so. Thanks again.

Windsmoke
Thank you. Much appreciated.

Cait
A very welcome comment. Thank you for it.

Kat
Hi Kat, good to have your comments. Kind words indeed. Thank you for them. "Porphyria's Lover", eh? I'm flattered.

jabblog
Totally agree!

Ygraine said...

I think we've just glimpsed inside the mind of a stalker.
Eerie and disturbing, I loved it.
Had me looking over my shoulder though!!

Manicddaily said...

Oh dear! I'm glad they moved! Very well done, but terribly creepy. Sad too, of course. You are very good at getting inside these different voices. k.

ds said...

Stalked, indeed. Well done!