I said “it hurts”
She said
“oh my love, do you know what I do?”
I shook my head
She said
“I pour ice on the wounds
and then I whisper to them
“when hell freezes over.”
And it does
freeze over.
It seemed extreme
but even doctors say
“Apply ice”
so I took her advice .
Now I walk around with a little piece of hell in me
and on top is some ice
and no, it’s not very nice
But at least
it doesn’t hurt anymore,
and if anything
it just feels
Numb
I’ve seen pictures, movies of landscapes covered in snow. I’ve never actually seen snow, up close, in person, but it seems peaceful.
I like the way the snow covers everything when it’s thick, like a layer of silence, peace.
Dead branches
Old car bodies
Rubbish
Header photo: icebergs pool at Bondi. It’s been a dream of mine to swim there for a long time and last year we were there for a few days so I swam every morning and can tell you it is aptly named. So bracing, so cold, and when I stepped out I was alive all the way to my core.
Content of poem? An imaginary narrative on accepting what can’t quite be forgiven for now, because it allows us to carry it in a way that doesn’t hurt us (or anyone else). Yes, waking in the morning should be a clean slate but instead it is usually looking at a small bundle of emotions and thoughts and deciding how to unburden as much as possible, and then accepting there will simply be things that need to be carried a little further before they can be dropped, naturally and of their own accord and letting yourself off the hook for that too, because after all, we are humans, not robots 💖
Soon it will be hard to tell if we’re human or robots. Never seen snow? It IS peaceful. I love winter, but it does go on pretty long. Need to get out of it for a couple weeks soon. Hope you feel better.
Hi Lynn, I love rain but only overnight – and I think much as I love the idea of snow, I would find it really annoying after a while. I’m fine, it was a temporary thing, which most emotions are, and it gifted me with a poem, so there’s that, lovely to hear from you.
There was lots of snow in winter when I was living in Canada and it was so beautiful. Winter was my favourite. Not so much fun waiting for the bus after a snowstorm though haha.
I would love to see snow. Perhaps next year – we are busy in Australia in winter so it’s not a time we really venture down south to take a look
Yeah, that’s fair. Maybe one year you’ll have enough time to do that and see the snow.
it’s an effective metaphor, and it moves the poem along nicely; there’s also a corollary; when you’re feeling one pain sharply,it masks the other —
Hi John,
It’s very true, we think we are in pain, then a fresh pain comes along and the first pain is forgotten. This was an odd little poem that arose from an issue earlier in the week and it basically wrote itself. Sometimes they do that. Thanks for reading 🙂
it flows with ease —
I’m glad you liked it, I hope you also are flowing with ease and feeling better every day.
hahaha; yes, I am Kate; easing into the day 🙂
What a beautiful poem and thoughtful discussion. And bag, I wish al were there in that picture.
Such a beautiful ocean pool, I wish I was back in it too!
Kate, I love your creative work, your voice. The many layers of meaning you create that need several readings to fully appreciate. 🙏🏻
Thanks Michelle, that’s very kind 💖
You’re welcome. 🌷 Very sincere.