Roses of Agony

I am being told to let go
By almost everyone I know
Release, let it out, let it be
Plunge into passivity
 
While I cling to bitter beauty
My bruises bloom a thorny tree
Guarding roses of agony

This pain is mine, it belongs to me
My torment is my blood, it breathes
with every breath, it beats with my heartbeats
Within my tears, it weeps
It shrieks, uncoiled, beneath my skin
Where the sin of suffering begins

It is my fertile fury, my hellish choir
My savage soul, my cathartic fire

It is large and lush and livid
Conquering and vivid

It is too precious, too valuable, to trade away or wallow
in trinkets, or flimsy platitudes, or empty cliches, or hollow
promises of unfulfilling fortresses to follow

Their learned words I dare spurn
For to recover, I must burn

So I will keep it, for I know its worth, 
even if their unsolicited, unwarranted, intrusive,
Questioning and questionable, inconclusive
Unadvised advisors do not grant it girth

It is here I find
What I want most
Where rage of kindness blinds
My grieving ghosts.

06/06/20

Entered in 'N/A Rerun 7'
1st Place
Copyright © | Year Posted 2020

Poem

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De Beaulieu Avatar
June 28, 2020 at 1:03 PM
Hello Michelle, a lot of heartache here. I feel the pain as I read through the poem. Enjoy your day my friend.
Mishra Avatar
June 17, 2020 at 1:50 AM
Sad yet comforting at the same time Michelle. I really find this an honest version of our emotions in life. Congratulations on your win :)
Goldsmith Avatar
June 16, 2020 at 10:30 AM
Congratulations on your win. WOW!!! What a write. Beautiful roses can turn into agony. Enjoy your win and day..........
Brul Avatar
June 16, 2020 at 2:29 AM
This a very fine evocative piece! Congratulations on your top win!
Watt Avatar
June 15, 2020 at 10:02 AM
Michelle, so glad to see this receive a #1 placement. It is a poem to be very proud of. I think the revisions you have made have served it well. Congratulations, my friend ~ John
Faulkner Avatar
June 18, 2020 at 6:07 PM
Yes, I tweaked one or two words - can't seem to let this one go, I am always wanting to change just - one - more - thing - I guess I am obsessed? But thank you so much for your comment!
Hamilton Avatar
June 15, 2020 at 9:33 AM
Now this one is great timing, you were smart to enter this one Michelle, it's so hard to believe it got an N/A in any contest, well here's to validation, first place!
Faulkner Avatar
June 18, 2020 at 6:05 PM
And thank you for the placement as well :)
Hamilton Avatar
June 14, 2020 at 10:03 PM
Thanks for posting this poem Michelle, I don't know where to begin...this is...one of the best writes I've ever read. Sadly I relate and I congratulate you for speaking these words, now I can save it and re-read it over and over...speechless...wow!!
Faulkner Avatar
June 18, 2020 at 6:04 PM
I am humbled by your generous comment, thank you so much, John!
Kiser Avatar
June 8, 2020 at 6:04 PM
Wow, a good solid read. Well done.
Laurie Avatar
June 7, 2020 at 12:03 AM
Hello Michelle … nicely presented indeed and a pleasure to read - thank you Michelle - Lindsay
Cunningham Avatar
June 6, 2020 at 3:41 PM
A very emotional write Michelle, for to recover I must burn, how true that is. Tom
Leffanta Avatar
June 6, 2020 at 2:04 PM
Your muse apparently thrives on Quarantine! Aloha! Rico
Watt Avatar
June 6, 2020 at 1:51 PM
Pure poetry, Michelle. I can read this over and over and still I want to experience it one more time. So dense with emotion, and amazing phrases. "It is my fertile fury, my hellish choir My savage soul, my cathartic fire". One of your best, imho. And thanks for the nod, I was honored to help, not that it needed much from me. Glad to see you repost.
Faulkner Avatar
June 7, 2020 at 6:01 PM
Your input was so valuable - sometimes I think fresh eyes on a piece can help bring it into focus, and your comments are so insightful and encouraging!
Allison Avatar
June 6, 2020 at 1:42 PM
wow Michelle the agony of grief so powerfully described - I have never experienced such emotions, thanks for sharing Michelle, adding this to my faves -) hugs Jan xx
Faulkner Avatar
June 7, 2020 at 5:59 PM
This one kept coming back to me even two years after I originally posted it, so I decided to update it, so flattered you made it a fave!
Pigeon Tart Avatar
June 6, 2020 at 11:09 AM
WOW. Hats off to you, I can't find the right words, none of them are enough. Well, other than "a fave". xomo! <3
Faulkner Avatar
June 6, 2020 at 11:28 AM
Always a pleasure to hear from you, Mo - hope you are taking care of yourself :)
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