Onion Skin

Parchment vs Papyrus

The leathery hide of the alligator

Consoles the weary traveler’s feet

Stuffed inside his well worn boots.

I would be free of him

He soothes his mind with bowie knives

And his eyes are full of anvils

Dragging me down a cliff.

I would be rid, be rid of him.

 

In ages past the thinner the page

The better, the soft onion skin pages of a bible

The greatest luxury in hovels

Not known for their comfy accommodations.

 

Often finer than anything presented by Gideon

Names lifted from their subjects, long dead

Line the pages like God’s accounts book

Ledgered into place by the shaky hand of matriarch

The keeper of secrets.

 

I would be well shed of her

Possessing the vision of the road

The endless twine ball unraveling

Taking me away to places unknown

With no root system , just desert tracks

That once might have been connected

To a cistern of someone’s life

No more known than that on onion skin.

I would be gone from, gone from her.

 

There is no place to lay my head

That is not inhabited by ghosts

The kind of unfeeling creatures who

Make their presence known without their meaning

Stake territory meant for the living

And drive the price of freedom high

In the twilight’s guilt gleaming.

 

Between the journey and the home

The restless place of today looms large

And I am driven back to leather and onion skin

Searching for my sure way home

 

I would be, should be home by now.

Reviews

[flaneur]

Bowie knives, anvils, onion skin, ghosts. This is a great introduction to your portfolio, which I will be exploring with much interest.

[Adam Greenfield]

Stellar write. I love the ancient feel to it combined with subject matter appropriate for any time.

And whether you find that home on onion skin or otherwise, always keep moving forward. Somtimes, from what I've heard, and this may be all rumor, but sometimes home finds you.

I love the write.

[Matio]

very mysterious and interesting.

[Dani California]

Exceptional write...
this is my second go round,
and because I have the need to fully grasp,
I'll likely be returning after I write this.
Of course, my grasp may be entirely different
than what is actually intended. lol

hmm.. fully grasp... that's
really what's going on here I think.
Not fully grasping purpose, meaning...
the "secret" ... the big picture.

Yes, given all that we have encountered, experienced,
read, seen, heard, "truths" passed on from generation to generation,

you would think after all of that ...

we would all be home by now.

Very thought provoking and wonderfully written piece! Thank you!

[Cardinal Robin]

Neat juxtaposition of leather face/skin with layers of onion skin...very hip and added with androgyny...the he/she we struggle with as which self am I? and the long and winding Kerouac road...reminds me of one of the beats I'm often compared to...I can never remember his name...no matter you have a unique voice!
Thanks for that and this and not running amiss with your choices...
You have a place to lay your hat with me, tru Dat!
Robin

[R J Askew]

I'm feeling very prosaic today so to read a poem full of real feelings is a priviledge. I also envy the poet for have the strong feelings expressed and am simultaneously relieved not to be so attuned myself. In truth I don't feel much angst or doubt. Maybe my psychology is all comfy accommodations. I dunno. So not reading with poet turned on but definitely reading with mind turned on...and I DO like the anvils in the eyes! abd 'I would be rid, be rid of him. Can a prosaic mind 'pretend' to be a poet without the inconvenience of actually feeling very much? And what I wonder, would God write, were he to log onto writerscafe? Would he apologise for 'leadership issues'? Or turn out to be tough drill sergeant?

[Chloe..Across the Unive..]

This poem has , like an onion, many layers..
I found it thought provoking , lonely in ways.. very well written.
I enjoyed it ..

There is no place to lay my head
That is not inhabited by ghosts
The kind of unfeeling creatures who
Make their presence known without their meaning
Stake territory meant for the living
And drive the price of freedom high
In the twilight's guilt gleaming.

Adored this verse... 'In the twilight's gleaming'.. very good line..

Chloe
xoxo