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Jul 20
poem challenge: Freedom
liebeslied

forget me

I lied down on the dampened earth
beneath the moonless sky.
shadows of invisible things
pervaded the songless night

I stared into the empty air
counting forgotten stars,
but to me they burned like crimson fire
and a million broken hearts

I felt the touch of forget-me-nots
as petals rippled in the wind,
forming an ocean of seafoam blue
soft flutters against my skin

I clutched a blackbird to my chest
but it flapped and quavered and cried.
“It’s okay,” a voice whispered in me,
“I’ll hold you close and tight.”

The blackbird said nothing to me
but we both understood and knew,
so we let silence hold our bond
the blackbird stopped struggling too

And just when I seemed to drift away
into a land of the blackbird’s home,
a streak gashed across the sky
and white blood flowed like veins –

a shooting star, a shooting star!
how beautiful and elegant it was!
a shooting star, a shooting star!
how simple and free it was!

The dampened earth had felt warmer –
the forgotten stars began to fade –
the forget-me-nots bloomed ever so brighter –
and the blackbird had gone away.

I lied down on the dampened earth
drowned with tears and cries,
but to me it glowed like poppy petals
and a million christmas lights

And I could finally close my eyes and dream
of a land far far away.
of a land where no blackbirds sing;
a land where my home lay.

All while I drowned in an ocean of seafoam blue

All while a shooting star gashed across my throat

All while the
forget
me
nots

burned

brighter
brighter

 
  • liebeslied's blog
  • Sprout
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Posted: 07.20.21
About the Author: liebeslied
MSG / CONTACT
RECENT LOVES
  • roe v wade
  • Wood burn moon art
  • Maine (3 PM on Monday)
  • Spilled Paint
  • Sunset (at different hours in the day)
RECENT COMMENTS
  • wow!! the images you painted
  • I loved the images you
  • aww wow!! I love sunsets! :)
  • the almost "ethereal" beauty
  • I really love reading all the

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Discussion

Comments

  1. charvermont
    Jul 21, 2021

    this is such a lovely poem - I love the description of the "forgotten stars" and how "they burned like crimson fire / and a million broken hearts"

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  1. liebeslied
    Jul 22, 2021

    thank you!

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YWP is a creative, online community of teen writers and visual artists. We're based in Burlington, VT, and we welcome young creators from anywhere!
Young Writers Project | 47 Maple St., Suite 216 | Burlington, VT 05401
501(c)(3) nonprofit established in 2006
Contact: Susan Reid, Executive Director: [email protected]; (802) 324-9538