Tuesday, September 20, 2011

walls


the wall had a face in it

and i saw that
the wall
was you

so i offered you my hand
work-worn and calloused

"take my hand" i said
and let it lead you
where it may

let's break apart
the wall of you
let's know the stories of the unlikeliness of me
let's know the stories of the unlikeliness of us

but those stories were too detailed
too tender
too loud
too exotic
too plain
too unlikely
too kind
too demanding
too old
too new
too hard to imagine

and so i became another possibility
and held much of
the entirety of myself
in check
in place
in side
in sight
and poured the clay of my self
into the brick-shaped frame
over
and over

and built a wall
with my face in it

the wall of me


i'm listening to steve shehan and nabil othmani as i write this

17 comments:

Elisabeth said...

Stunning, Steven. The play on words and wall resonate for me with the music.

steven said...

thankyou very much elisabeth! steven

Tess Kincaid said...

I love this.

steven said...

tess - i'm glad!! steven

Reya Mellicker said...

I am blown away.

I know this, of course, but never, not ever had the languge to describe it perfectly.

Holy cow.

Thank you.

Anonymous said...

So sad.

The Weaver of Grass said...

As long as you don't build that wall completely around yourself steven, so that no-one can get in.

Friko said...

As long as you build that wall to face the face in the wall opposite.

This is a very lovely sequence of images.

Linda Sue said...

There is an entire dictionary- words- more words- How you find just the right ones to put together like this and blow my mind entirely-- magic- astonishing! The header looks a lot like every day here...
Thank you- Thank you!

Butternut Squash said...

It is a constant cycle of breaking down and rebuilding. It's wonderful when we can find equanimity for a while.

I somehow found the breaking apart embarrassingly revealing written down so openly.

steven said...

well, you're welcome of course reya. the question is . . . now what?! steven

steven said...

lilith - yes. in so many ways. but being able to see relationships for this piece means there's a degree of objectivity that allows for moving on despite this!!! steven

steven said...

weaver - i don't have enough time or interest to allow that wal to be built by me or anyone else. steven

steven said...

good point friko - thanks for the perspective. steven

steven said...

linda sue i thought of your facial and emotional expression when i popped that picture in place. i imagined you running screaming for the heat lamp!! thanks for yor kind words about my writing today. steven

steven said...

butternut - in light of the current events in nepal i was saddened by the synchronicity of my breaking down walls as a metaphor with the very real tumbling down of walls that my nepalese brothers and sisters have endured. i'm sure you can forgive me for an unintended coincidence. steven

Ruth said...

You have been doing some very fine Rumi-like work, Steven. I'm impressed by your understanding, and ability to express it.