If
By JMA
If prisons
Lease our liberty
If seas
Rent our shores
If silence
Hustles penny songs
If power
Purchases helplessness
Then into this world
I step renewed
To float unbound
Cocooned in pleasure, in pain
Not yet spent
Comprehend, contained
A desperate paradigm
Unknown, unborn, untainted
If this time
I can love myself enough to live
4 Comments
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Dear JMA,
The simplicity and imagery in your lines “To float unbound / Cocooned in pleasure, in pain” really struck a chord with me. I also thought the way you used repetition was effective and beautiful.
Please keep writing! I want to read more!
Your fan,
Rachael
Right on!
The poem makes such wonderful comparisons and is thought provoking. The rhythm of the poem works very well. That last line brings all together in a profound recognition. Well done.
Those last two lines were a gut punch like last lines should be. I would love to refer to this poem to show my writing students how powerful, perfectly chosen verbs can make a poem sing.
– Andrea