My Tell-Tale Heart- a Twist On Poe
It wasn’t that I’d done you wrong
I welcomed you into my heart’s home
I cherished you
And I fed you
I protected you
I let you dream your dreams
In comfort
In safety
And I loved you
You were my own
And yet….
Day upon day
You waited for the opportunity
To confess
Knowing it would kill me
Knowing I would bleed
You had a perverse pleasure
In planning….
To murder my heart
And I never had a clue
I trusted you
You planned…you observed
And all the while you smiled
Acting sweet and caring
Checking on me
Making sure my needs were met
And then
Out of nowhere
Like lightning
You struck my unsuspecting heart
Rammed the dagger in deep
And twisted
Twisted
To make sure
All the blood was spilt
Satisfied and sure of yourself
You hid your gruesome work
Underneath layers of indifference
Buried
Or so you thought
But every now and then
You hear it
I know….I can see it on your face
You hear the beating of my heart
My tell-tale heart
It still beats for you
It’s still alive
You try to deaden it
The noise
It’s driving you mad
As you wine and dine her
You try to make love to her
More vigorously than before
More often
More intensely
But as she is screaming your name
Begging you for more
In the crescendo of passion
You heart it
The beating of my heart
It drowns out her voice
It drowns out everything
It pounds in your head
You can’t go on
Angry
You leave her wanting
As you run out of the room screaming…
“STOP IT
I hear your cry
I killed your love
Why do you still haunt me?”
Beat after beat after beat
My heart is still alive
You feel it
You are drawn to it
She notices
They notice
You are agitated
Something is driving you mad
It’s me
You remember my goodness
My smile...my bed...my scent
my love...my body...my warmth
That pounding in your head
Is desire for me
It gets louder…LOUDER
As you walk over to where I stand
With each quickened step
The pounding intensifies
Surely everyone must hear it
You come closer
The indifference gone from your face
Love...Passion...Repentance
I hear the beating
Thundering in my own ears
My love for you
You are closer
You put your head on my chest
Your tears wet my blouse
I run my hands through your hair
As I whisper…
“Listen…
My Tell-Tale heart
Is still beating for you!”
Eileen Manassian Ghali
Copyright © Eileen Manassian | Year Posted 2013
Post Comments
Poetrysoup is an environment of encouragement and growth so only provide specific positive comments that indicate what you appreciate about the poem. Negative comments will result your account being banned.
Please
Login
to post a comment