New poem – My life…
Posted on Dec 5, 2023 in Blog feature, Gallery, Recent Images, Recent Writing | 46 comments
My life
Founded on
Quicksand it seems.
And oft so.
As if beleaguered
By some spiky-clawed
Civet,
Or the piercing scream
Of peacocks,
I feel beset upon.
So flay my skin
Then,
If you must,
Because there’s times
When I think
I do not belong
In such a world
That looks to cage me so.
Though here I am,
As ever,
Still splayed out here
For all to see.
My very being
A refraction
Of some shrill awareness
That is,
At the same time,
Most terrible
And most glorious too.
Especially when,
Whatever risks
I might take,
An acquiescence to passivity
Is the most
Terrifying prospect of all.
For I am like a kiss
Just missing a cheek,
A veritable treacle of desire.
Wow! What a poem, both agonizing, freeing, and political too, all at the same time… Amazing how you’ve done that!!
The introspection found here is ethereal and palpable. Here, it is asked if one even belongs in the world, near the beginning and then at the denouement bookends it with:
For I am like a kiss
Just missing a cheek,
A veritable treacle of desire.
The use of treacle, which is sticky and sweet, undergirds and reveals how the poet feels. It is that feeling of being and not being, of having and not having which as part of humanity defines the want and the absence of what we are.
Dear Scottie,
What a lovely and profound poem that you share.
Thank you for the beauty !
Dear Scott,
Thank you for the well thought poem
” For I am like a kiss
Just missing a cheek”
These lines are to me superb in their simplicity…
Happy Christmas Michelle
Edgy but not pessimistic work. I share the sentiment here about these two lines …
For I am like a kiss
Just missing a cheek
Brilliant!
“For I am like a kiss
Just missing a cheek,
A veritable treacle of desire”.
… Wow!
The phrasing really hits throughout this piece. Very timely and thought provoking, Scott. Expresses deep understanding.
Well, Well… This breathtaking… A fantastically fresh, original and powerfully raw contemporary take on the essence of the human condition.
However, if you didn’t know it had been written by Scott Hastie and came across it instead on an anonymous piece of dusty old vellum, you’d also just as credibly believe it to have been written by any number of nineteenth century literary giants. Altogether, an extraordinary and timeless achievement!
Never did I know how masterfully my feelings could be captured. My heart hurts, but it also holds the hope of living freely, truly being ourselves, unapologetically, loving and living our best lives. I sense this a took a lot of you but was also your most therapeutic poem in a long while. That came from deep within, didn’t it?
Excellent as ever!
Scottie, your poetry intrigues me. It’s true to life and most of the time I can relate
Your newest piece is raw.
Being artistic I function outside the box
I saw a naked being lying there for all to see and you don’t want to be like the rest not giving a damn what the world thinks!
I love it
What is a poet to do anyway these days, exiled in places where only dead language is spoken? I assume that’s the suffering persona here — for more personal masks, that’s everyone’s cross. Life is a missed kiss. Hope you’ve been well, friend – Brendan
“My very being
A refraction
Of some shrill awareness”
Indeed.❤️
Being is tough and choosing between being reclusive and awkwardly sharing with others is an irreconcilable dilemma. Scott, I hear you. Raw and real is appreciated <3
loving most especially that last stanza.
The verbiage used in the poem shines with a certain dose of pure certainty, it reminded me a lot of what, by definition, would be “blind faith” in ones own warm virtues against a grievous face of humanity. This part resonated with me the most: “So flay my skin
Then,
If you must,
Because there’s times
When I think
I do not belong
In such a world
That looks to cage me so.”
The bleak atmosphere is honest.
I agree, very different from your usual offerings… so much darker… maybe we all have these moments of doubts when we see ourselves reflected in others…
Sometimes we simply have to look elsewhere to find ourselves.
Gorgeous writing as always!
Soul-searching doubts, the thoughts that a life is built on “quicksand.”
I especialy liked:
“For I am like a kiss
Just missing a cheek,”
Too many outstanding lines to winnow just one. A poem most people can relate to, I know I can.
I get the feeling that the subject of this poem has him or she wanting to be a deer, free of restraints of all varieties.
..
Your last three lines are so striking. We often feel like our lives are built on quicksand, especially at three in the morning when insomnia strikes.
There is so much in this poem, Scott, that makes me nod my head and mutter, yeah. A life ‘founded on quicksand’ I can relate to, as well as the lines:
‘Because there’s times
When I think
I do not belong
In such a world
That looks to cage me so’
and
‘For I am like a kiss
Just missing a cheek,
A veritable treacle of desire’.
What an apt analogy … rarely do we notice that we are, indeed, living as if in quicksand.
Powerful imagery, Scott, to accompany this tumble of sensations you give us here, agonising and yet beautifully expressed.
For I am a kiss just missing a cheek….yes know the feeling well…Not easy…
My very being
A refraction
Of some shrill awareness… beautifully said. The image of the refraction stands out.
Such powerful metaphors!
These lines resonate with me…
So flay my skin
Then,
If you must,
Because there’s times
When I think
I do not belong
In such a world
That looks to cage me so.
So many invisible bars cage us in and cause us to sink. Powefully written.
Poignant and beautiful It feels like daring to break through the restraints of life, not giving in but reaching out with passion. Gorgeous last stanza
An amazing write!I read it several times, gleaning more each time. A huge WOW from me.
For I am like a kiss
Just missing a cheek,
A veritable treacle of desire.
These lines were a great ending. Being human is so very complicated.
“A hope beyond the shadow of a dream”….
J. Keats
Yes, this poem was different from your usual. Sounds like you’ve been having some challenge. I’m sure your readers will relate to them, as they seem to be doing…
I’m very glad I found you here…. Thank you for sharing your work. I’m in awe of what lovely feedback, support and dialogue have fostered on this, your website.
How deeply the expression of life is studied upon yet in a poetic manner, brilliantly done
I love the last stanza, its descriptive power, so much feeling and understanding–a whole tell–in just three lines.
That last stanza has such depth of feeling. Wonderful poem, Scott!
Beautiful piece..
Scott, a fine work here, indeed! There is such a deeply refined honesty and truth that flows through this piece. You bathe our souls with expressions that can only resonate deep within one’s self. And still, you bare your soul where others may not feel any level of comfort doing so. This is an essential element of who we are and wish to be as writers, and poets, healing and inspiring all the while; our gift to humankind! Praise be, my cherished friend.
Thank you for this poem
As I listen to Scott intently declare “You and I Are Playing for Time”. These words are prophetic and your lines have a certain iron edge with the world turning asunder. There is hope whenever it seems like the systems are collapsing. I haven’t known any other modern poet with such humanness displaced. Thanks for remaining honest and angst-ridden. This is a calling to all those who truly believe humanity is endangered. It is not. We will rebound. You might have to continue this discourse. Artists must be in the front lines willing to protect and serve and learn how to love communities again. Thanks for illuminating our dark souls. The resonance of these words are potent and authentic unlike those who complain about the pettiness.
A cathartic poem with bold imagery. Life can be unfair and assaultive, but I
can still persevere and celebrate being alive and participatory. To quote
Sir Elton, “I`m still standing.”
Thank you Scott. This is unusual… I will read it again.
Powerfully said. I like this line:
So flay my skin
Then,
If you must,
Because there’s times
When I think
I do not belong
In such a world
That looks to cage me so.