~Scorch'd

i clutch your love letters to my breast

weathered with fateful, salty tears

i watch the fire  crackle and flicker

it has more life force than me

i ruminate and  wonder

if i threw them in would you burn

could those memories of a life

once cherished, disappear

i catch my reflection

when did my youth slip away

so many promises,

too much heartache

my story began and ended with you

i hate sorrowful parting good byes

yet i know this is my only chance

as if by some magical spell, 

     the parchment leapt 

          through time & space

               enveloped by flames,

as the onion skin unfolded

i felt my skin burning

...and finally scorch my eyes

all that's left are begotten ashes   

Reviews

[annie lee]

A poignant scene, indeed. We may destroy the curling, fluttering ribbons that tie us to a past life, but that doesn't remove the memories. The third stanza is of course, the crux of the matter. Will burning the letters burn away the lover? No, and grief is a difficult trip, making one's way through the mire of doubt, regret and shards of sharp words is a hard road, but once through it, the ashes, as you say, are all that remains. Very intense and starkly visual.

[Frieda P]

Always love your reviews, thanks so much 2minichinz.

[TL Boehm]

OH HELL this is brilliant - emotive - and aching - the way we toss a part of ourselves into the flames when we 'dispose of the remnants' either physically or metaphorically. I read horizon's review and got excited a little because that is exactly what I long for - that someone would decide to hang on to the "letters" - because after we go - those tangible items become our story - we touched them. We cried. It proves we were real - beyond those ashes.
I am in the middle of my own tantrum - and since I am a girl - my tantrum touches everything else (it has tentacles) so I'm thinking in all directions - and as I read this poem - and I feel the ache and the beauty of the words - it is a part of a human life - and therefore deserves to be treated with grace - to be preserved and so I am inspired....(you have me monologuing. oy)

[Frieda P]

OH HELL TL I caught this on live feed, and had to see what you were babbling on about lol....I always love to read your reviews, they're so real and make me smile, you're real people, thanks for this insightful response, you made me smile once again, carry on. :-)

[TL Boehm]

Sometimes I read a poem and think D****T - I wish I wrote that or "D****T" I didn't want to feel that but I do - and then I have to stop and write a real review but sometimes I just want to write the first word out of my mind and today it was "oh hell this is brilliant"

[Frieda P]

And I'm so glad you did, made my day!

[Horizon K.]

A lovely one dear... It takes me back... I had a long distance relationship at 18/19, involving endless love letters... But in the heart break that followed... I couldn't burn them even though I set the fire and stared into it, just like you do here... Instead I put them in a shoebox, wrapped round and round with tape, and placed them on the shelf at my parents house... The box still sits in the same place today... Now days though... We can just press delete... So easy it's terrifying...

[Frieda P]

Most definitely Horizon, I still have old ones saved in much the same way, I was having a discussion earlier with someone about emails, who can hold an email to their heart, so easily deleted as you've stated, thanks so much for this great review.

[Horizon K.]

You can delete the messages but you can't delete the memories... But how easy is it... To delete yourself ... from WC...

[Frieda P]

I'm not even sure what that means..............

[Thomas Fitzgerald]

A telling piece that relates well, those times when we mst free ourseleved at last, well done, good read.

[Frieda P]

Thanks love, glad you enjoyed it...

[Rita L. Sev]

The literal torching of letters; the emotional burn of memory... Cathartic and necessary, but the residual ashes remain.

A cleansing of the heart in this write, Frieda - beautiful.

[Frieda P]

Exactly Rita, thanks so much.

[SyberRose]

The only love notes I get are "I made the coffee...all you have to do is push the button"...and
its in his hand writing too ha...This was beautifully penned though Frieda...today people just use email and text...not as romantic....:)

[Frieda P]

Hahaha tell your hubby to get with the program Rose! ;-)

[Jack...]

This poem is heart breaking and so very touching. We keep momentos from a lost love only so long before we have no other choice but to lay them to the wind and watch them scattered among our tears. This poem makes me think...is it all just a waste of time, the penning of the hearts feelings just so the fires of sorrow can swallow them in a moments time. Very nice my friend.

[Frieda P]

Gasp! Is the one true romantic asking 'is it all a waste of time'? Oh my, now you're going to make me cry Jack!

[Dr. Wood ?]

it is what you do best Frieda...How hard it must be to burn such a cherished past...

[Frieda P]

Burn baby burn, you know what they say doc, thanks.....

[Dr. Wood ?]

Clashes to ashes

[Frieda P]

Somethin' somethin' like that...

[Brandon S. Whitten]

Magnificent write, Frieda! Something my wife once did with my letters before we married and thought she'd never see me again.

[Frieda P]

Oh i bet she's sorry now...thanks so much Brandon.

[Brandon S. Whitten]

My pleasure...kinda, she wants me to write more, so I send her emails now...:)

[Frieda P]

Awh, not the same thing, you can't hold an email to your heart! ;-)

[Brandon S. Whitten]

True, but can't burn them either. Not that I'd leave her, she's my twin soul.

[Frieda P]

So practical, but not as romantic! ;-P

[Pete Langley]

This seems cathartic....unwrapped suffered loss needing to be unshed to allow a new beginning. I hope I`m right, Frieda. You deserve it, love. P.

[Frieda P]

I'd say they're all cathartic on some level Pete, but you'd be right here, thanks love x