Decay Gracefully

This life is a dull blade

Sawing, sawing, sawing

A two-headed calf, a red shred

Pointless? Perhaps. Pained, certainly.

Is my diction speaking volumes?

Do my screams sound better in verse?

I can’t keep living like this 

I can’t scrub myself clean of the person I have become 

Every hug feels like a death sentence 

A cold realization that numbness is bone deep 

Has my birthday already passed? Christmas too?

I am losing track of the milestones 

That must not be a good sign

None of this is a good sign 

I feel like I am sleeping standing up

And dying with each breath I take 

It used to feel like a sporadic fire poker 

Now it is just a constant ache 

I keep trying to tell you 

You’re not listening 

You think if you deny that I am broken

I will somehow glue myself together 

Please believe me, look at me, see me

See through my lies, taste it on my tongue 

I am in so much pain, I am rotting 

And I am running out of ways to decay gracefully

Reviews

[June bug]

Aging is quite the process, quite like a young tree that is planted, watch it grow and fade at times, and watch branches break. I like this, it is quite intriguing.

[nadia dmitri]

Thank you very much :)

[Soren]

Decay a part of entropy is nature and a natural process that to many brings so much pain but is nothing more that a transition to a new state. I do not fight against the light but accept it as nature's ride to something new. I could feel the anguish in this poem and a plea for recognition and care. Live in the moment and be what you are.

[Chris Shaw]

There is nothing graceful about the aging process. Aging is about decay but the young have a chance to mend what is broken. The first steps are to talk about it, to tell someone who is a good listener how they are feeling. It makes such a difference if you have a good listener rather than feeling you are talking to a brick wall. Your couplets work well. Well done nadia.

Chris

[nadia dmitri]

Thank you for your thoughtful words, Chris :)

[Relic]

I can relate to this. That sharpness I once had is becoming more dull with each years passing. Life can be cruel even if you do everything right.

Your poem is detailed in a way that a younger person should read and learn from. None of us are immune to aging.

Well done.

[nadia dmitri]

Thank you for those thoughtful words :)

[jacob erin-cilberto]

Denial is not super glue...it is just the opposite...
when we admit our pain and brokenness, someone really ought to listen...and at least
provide Duct tape to keep us going awhile longer.
I am at that age at which I am thinking about this a lot...sleeping standing up and considering each sleep might be the one from which I might not wake.
Age speaks to us.Doesn't it?
j.