Apr '14 1
Today is the first day of poem-a-day month, April 2014. The associated website is over here at NaPoWriMo 2014.

I will be writing and posting a new poem here each day, so make sure to check back here daily for a new poetic offering.

As always, I include the disclaimer that all poems posted during this month will be raw first drafts!

This morning I saw on Facebook that someone had 'liked' this page: TWLOHA. I followed the link and discovered 'To write love on her arms', a beautiful (US-based) movement and support group that helps those who self-harm, who have attempted suicide or who have suicidal thoughts.

This poem for day one was the (probably inevitable) result, with the first line being the name of the movement.

TWLOHA

To write love on her arms
she charms her blades across
her papyrus skin, she's in
the state to inscribe
poetry
                her
                                broken
                                                soul
                                                                wishes
to bleed dark kisses to a
darker master
anticipating her artistic
immolation to him,
enticing her with mystery
and her history
of lonely loathing
of waiting alone for icy cold
to take hold and permeate,
permanent

and yet she grasps a vision of living that may last,
that tenders her strength
to bypass despair, that measures out hope
dares her to care enough about herself
to cope, to believe that she is worthy
and she decides it's worth the pain
of saying no to the knife
so that she can say
                yes
                                yes
                                                yes
to her beautiful life


Posted by Jennifer Liston

0 Trackbacks

  1. No Trackbacks

16 Comments

Display comments as (Linear | Threaded)
  1. Mike H says:

    *Bleedin' 'ell (no pun intended), that is so powerful. Great start (though I know you've been doing it since Jan 1st, so you're well and truly warmed up). Great insight into a troubled person's mind. Look forward to the next 29.

  2. Jen says:

    *Thank you Mike. Actually I dropped off writing daily over the last month so this is a kick-start! :-)

  3. Russ says:

    *Beautiful stuff Jen

  4. Eleanor Lo says:

    *A insightful look into a sad part of life told with empathy, look forward to other deep and meaningful thoughts Eleanor

  5. Jen says:

    *Thank you Russ! xo

  6. Jen says:

    *Thank you Eleanor! Missed you in Sydney a few weeks ago! And thank you for your comment here, that means so much to me. Hope you're keeping well. xoxo

  7. Andy says:

    *Yet another good one!

  8. Jen says:

    *Thank you Andy! xo

  9. Ray says:

    *Beautiful piece! Keep it up.

  10. Jen says:

    *Thanks so much Ray! xo

  11. Josephine says:

    *liked it. Raw, in itself, helps describe the state of self harm.

  12. Jen says:

    *Thank you Josephine, and yes, raw seems to be the appropriate word. Hope all is well with you and that you're writing your beautiful story. xo

  13. Trish says:

    *Your back, love it Jen.

  14. Jen says:

    *Haha Trish, yes, I'm baaaaaaaaaack! xo

  15. Robert says:

    *What a beautiful start to April ...

  16. Jen says:

    *Thank you, beautiful Robert! xo :-)

Add Comment


Enclosing asterisks marks text as bold (*word*), underscore are made via _word_.
Standard emoticons like :-) and ;-) are converted to images.
Gravatar, Pavatar, Favatar author images supported.
E-Mail addresses will not be displayed and will only be used for E-Mail notifications.