Rob Carmack Poet Narrative

6 Am

6 a.m.
 
I saw your pain compressed in
Tourniquets and plungers.
Memories condensed to tears.
Cooling your hand holding bottles.
Dripping in puddles that flowed,
With white wind down glass tubes.
 
When you pressed for it,
I asked you;
Why you wanted too
So badly –
Maybe you did not hear me.
 
Then I asked -
For the attention?
But you were done talking.
“The affection is still free”.
I should try not to waste sentences.
 
At the hour of mid morning,
I remembered when I first saw you.
Walking up the sidewalk,
And I thought to myself:
Yes, I would - So I did.
 
Smiling ghosts made perfect faces,
Dancing off cigarettes on my front porch..
Yours ran to catch you.
As I watched with mine,
You walking home.
 
I pass a year and you in a store,
I heard you don’t cry the same,
Not like you used to.
You looked happy - I guess,
Or maybe it was, I hope you are.

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Keith Bickerstaffe December 29, 2015 at 3:24 PM What an invaluable member of the Soup family you have become... even back in your early days, (this your 2nd post here.) You paid me the compliment of saying you would return to my pages... I am repaying the compliment my friend. Thank God for the imaginative and unique poet you are. Best wishes, Keith

Casarah Nance October 13, 2015 at 1:37 PM Okay, I'm guilty, I want to place in your contest so I'm reading trying to get feel for you, and I read this and thought. wow this is great, I love that smiling ghosts line..hey this sounds familiar, then I scrolled through the comments and saw I was already here, and a year later, you poem still has me in awe..:)

Andrea Dietrich April 6, 2015 at 5:03 PM nope, it's not what I said in the soup mail just now either. Let me read what you are saying to me down below!! hmmm, you better give me the full story . I don't understand the terms like IV push. she must be doing drugs! I still do not get the images you used in that first stanza. I guess because none of it is familiar to me Rob Carmack April 7, 2015 at 8:34 AM I will email you the full story.

Rob Carmack April 5, 2015 at 12:56 PM Andrea: When I was younger, I had different circles of friends. These circles were very different from one another. This particular young woman, was from a rather fringe group. No hospitial or machines, just IV push. The self-medicated, unregulated kind. There was no pushing that night, but I could see the marks. There was a couple of 40s and some other things. Our ghosts were still with us then. I told her to face hers, but she wasn't ready. After seeing her in the store, I ran into her years later at a college. She was clean and in a program of study. She had finally dealt with her ghost. She remains one of the most beautiful women I have ever seen. If you want the full story, just soupmail me.

Andrea Dietrich April 5, 2015 at 10:22 AM I thought I would pay a visit to one of your first poems here. this is quite the reflective poem. I really like it. The last part I like best because I can understand it so well. The "ghosts" was genius. It's the first part I wish I could understand better. I imagined she was in a hospital bed hooked up to some kind of machine and dying. Did I get that right?

Andrea Dietrich April 5, 2015 at 10:22 AM and a belated congrats for your win with this.

Jan Allison January 1, 2015 at 9:29 AM so glad I got the opportunity to read this poem as i missed it when originally posted - congrats:-) hugs Jan xx

Kayod5 Kayode December 31, 2014 at 9:31 PM Congrats on your fine win and happy new year Rob...huggs

Poet Destroyer A December 31, 2014 at 9:07 PM Rob, thank you for supporting my contest. I'm taking this time to enjoy and invite you on over to my latest contest "Busted." Drop by if you'd like or have the time. Take Care, and enjoy the 2015... Happy new Year... Love Linda

Casarah Nance September 21, 2014 at 5:01 PM I saw this on the features for the week and had to drop in to say that I was intrigued, your lines like "smiling ghosts made perfect faces" were great to read, and I look forward to reading more of your interesting words. Rob Carmack October 1, 2014 at 2:33 AM TY

Chris G. Vaillancourt September 13, 2014 at 10:06 PM Great piece of writing. Clear thinking and very concise. Very well done!

Thvia Shetley September 13, 2014 at 4:01 PM well done, I truly enjoyed this piece