Tuesday, April 5, 2011

Should I Disrobe?

Should I undress and reveal my nether regions to you –
the basement dungeons where the ghouls play
and the warders march clockwise with whips?  
Should I show you the mirror – oh we all have one –
where the shame and miseries lurk, hoof against back, paw against throat? 
Should I show you where the bodies are buried,
the discards of life,
the refuse of my heart? 

I prefer to keep it light, dressed in stage paint,  
disguising my voice – I have a funny accent to try,
I could speak   s lo w l y or softly,
but you might turn away, discouraged, and bored.

Lights on or off?
Is that the shibboleth of desire? 
Or what books do you read and have you been assimilated by them? 
Do you prefer Kant? 
Do you prefer lieder? 
Silence? 

Know yourself?  Know me.



6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Ah..what hides beneath? This piece really makes you think...hard work, but worth it. Good job! Vb

Tess Kincaid said...

This is wonderful. I think we all can relate. I prefer to keep mine a little hazy, with lots of stage makeup, smoke and mirrors.

Willow said...

Powerful, thank you for the mirror.

Madeleine Begun Kane said...

A fascinating poem.

Stafford Ray said...

Isabel, this is a comment on all your posts from today to here. There are few poets that resonate with me as you do. To me poetry is less about gathering together words with obscure meanings (that is for cryptic crosswords) than choosing words and phrases that carry a meaning/emotion that cannot be expressed in prose.
On the way through there was one that really hit me so I will go back there and comment on that specifically. I am honoured to become a 'follower'.

Isabel Doyle said...

Thank you for your rather glowing comments Stafford Ray - I feel somewhat humbled and only hope you will not become disillusioned.

Thanks to Madeleine, Willow, Tess and versebender for your kind words on several of my poems.