Red Penance
Under the shade of that proliferous maple tree we'd named
I'd given you a piece of my naive exuberant heart
when I handed over a fragment of shimmering red ribbon
I still remember your reluctant smile masking paranoia
In shades of twilight wavering from mauve to scarlet
you'd returned that piece of me when you left
imprudent to believe in the eternity of young love
I'd vowed to reparate my life to obliviate my scars
Discarded that wretched fragment of red ribbon
I'd embarked a journey on a turn to another road
the miserable ribbon unaware of my reverberating battles
remained desolate on that spot- my incompetent sword
A whiplash of raging storm washed it down the cliff
as I kept descending into your miserable memories
the fervent stream rolled it forth with the pebbles
As I tossed my desires beneath the pattering raindrops
It crashed against unrelenting waves and surged carelessly
while I wished my fears would escape like an Albatross
On a frozen blue midnight it swept along a canopy to the shore
while the frozen chunks of my innocence gasped under snow
When Autumn bade farewell, it swooshed along with broken twigs
as my visions of you began to dissolve into old debts across time
When it slept beneath the cushions of dried leaves in summer
my fears evanesced in my pleas of mercy for atonement of new journeys
It disappeared in the follies of my young years embraced by time
and I rose into the skies with the strength of my scars
Soothing whispers and wailing sobs found an abode together
my exile demanded a resurrection of my past to attain salvation
Last year I heard a hurricane had uprooted our dear maple tree
I retreated the half mile I'd traversed half a decade ago with you
Unshackled from your anchor, my ship sailed smoothly till our spot
a fragment of a faded red ribbon fell next to a rising maple sapling
Enchanted by the divine coincidence manifested from my journey
I buried it with a soothing effervescence releasing you at last
the sapling of my red penance revived me with hope and bliss
I only remember the red memories now, not how the moments made me feel.
May 24, 2020
Falling Poetry Contest
Sponsor: Kai Michael Neumann
~Premiere Contest Winner: 6th Place
Your Best Free Verse That You Wrote Poetry Contest
Sponsor: Chantelle Anne Cooke
~Premiere Contest Winner: 6th Place
BRIAN'S CHOICE T,any form,any theme
~Winner: 2nd Place
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