Manchineel Valediction

Manchineel Valediction

A Chapter by Nusquam Esse

A disquieting shadow
I saw you rise twain
the breaking tide
and autumn's veil

Silhouette
endowed with the caress
of a sun lain low
a prismatic remembrance
of time now spent
at the cusp of twilight

Smothered by caustic ooze,
my gaze broke from your shadow
That shroud burned into my eyes
by a setting sun's glare upon
ebbing waves' reflection

I pursued that errant memory:
the scent of forsaken evergreen,
crashing brine,
a wayward smile's impression

But stepping to the bank
all that awaited me
was the gnarled
embrace of noxious
Manchineel
and the flooded vestige
of footfalls from the loam
to whence
my wake flirted
the distant shore

You are forevermore
My valediction
Unspoken
but by mangroves' murmer
and the shadows they leave
within


© 2020 Nusquam Esse


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Reviews

Wouldn't dare to critique what passes my understanding; always a mistake to do so, and never bestows any benefit. In lieu of constructive comment let me say your poetry is always an excuse for research and never fails to yield fresh , if not unfailingly useful, knowledge.

This tale telling poem sent me seeking swampy deadly trees, seductive and deadly fruit - Hawthorne and "Rappaccini's Daughter; Fleming and ""You Only Live Twice." It incited remorse that those two remarkable yarns were all my poor memory possessed.

Posted 3 Years Ago


Nusquam Esse

3 Years Ago

This was a piece that just developed in my mind, almost entirely from the impression rather than the.. read more
Delmar Cooper

3 Years Ago

Always a pleasure to read your fine and sometimes challenging work.

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Added on September 4, 2020
Last Updated on September 22, 2020


Author

Nusquam Esse
Nusquam Esse

Ogden, UT



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****I have disabled RRs, since I just don't have the time and energy to continue returning every review. I have enough on my plate without nagging feelings of obligation; so please, do NOT review me .. more..

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