The following poem was written by Gem and it's great to have the first poem, and especially the first original poem, published on The Wrap. How do you interpret the poem? Gem had a theme in mind as she wrote the poem but acknowledges that the words are open to interpretation. She is interested to know how you interpret the poem and what you think it's about so please leave a comment.
Illusory Light
Pounds, pounds, as you reach for the wine,
A stroke in the darkness of this shadowing reminiscence.
That old static crackling up your spine,
Round and round does the record evanescence.
Hot, cold, purple, sweat.
Dry, crisp, colder, damp.
Cough, cough, the Illusory Light’s embers
Whilst caught in that hollow you and you alone asked
In one black-white-sepia November,
“This way or that way, to be part of the cast?”
A crowd of tailored suits and clinking glasses
Feast the Illusory Light on fat cigars and prophetic drawl.
Swirling tendrils of smoke ascend from hierarchical stances
And you watch as the main man’s gleaming watch falls
Unnoticed, ticking, ticking,
Darker, Greater; long live the King of The Mountain.
The gaggle of low-back dressed women and black gloved hands
You would say each bare a part in your ruin, in the blame,
But the Illusory Light has been let in and you will never lose its brand.
Desire, lust, greed, promise; my friend you were merely prey in its game.
Hi, Gem. I like the surreal feel of this poem, could be science fiction even. Not sure what it means but that doesn't matter to me personally. The language is evocative, you involve all the senses, and that is poetry.
ReplyDeleteGem, what a fantastic poem! You definitely have a way with words. Like the first comment, I too feel the poem has quite a surreal feel. The words put a great amount of imagery in my head: an outsider at a party, someone who has been lured in by material promises or pressure to act and react as other people do, who is experiencing the darker sides of human nature... As you acknowledged, everyone interprets poems in their own way. What I loved about this is when I read it I was - for a moment - somewhere else entirely... Thank you for sharing. Eve :)
ReplyDeleteThank you both for the positive feedback :) #warm&fuzzies. It certainly is good to know that people understand what it is about (phew!). Now that I've got the ball rolling, I can't wait to read (or hear at open mic night) some of the WRAPPERS' writing ;).
ReplyDeleteGem
Thanks for that Gem - I'm glad to find there is another poet out there! (Thank you for submitting the first poem; I didn't want to 'hog the blog' so to speak, since I've already had two book reviews put up. I have a poem of mine to put up too, so I hope you'll have a read when it gets put up..) Eve
DeleteOf course! Please do :) Btw, The Rithmatist is really good, so thanks for the recommendation!
DeleteGem
Yay! I'm glad you liked it :)
DeleteEve
I loved the way your words use all the senses to evoke a mood. The image I have in my mind as I read the poem is an old man reflecting on the choices he made in his life. It seems there was once excitement, glamour and power in his life. Perhaps he was a successful businessman. But that has all gone now. He blames others for his downfall but perhaps his success was just an illusion after all.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful words Gem. Thanks for sharing your poem and for being open to the interpretation of your readers.
Carolyn