Sotto Poet Poet Free verse

Trapped Breath

Written: August 07, 2025, for contest Sponsored by: Mark Toney

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Corset of steel tightens—ratified pain,  
Vestigial breath trapped in ischemia thrall.  
The ductile hope failed to placate  
This Pyrrhic ache, this woebegone gall.

A sojourn in the squalor of soul,  
Where sylphlike dreams maunder, downcast.  
Ogle the embers of the miraculous nexus—  
A seraphic visage lost, quickly.

Vivacious once, now virile with woe, 
Panacea tastes of pabulum, slipshod, and cold.  
Tinkling memories coruscate as zeugma—  
Bright, yet untoward, they never hold.

Quixotic penchant for connection,
Grasping too late the nebula beneath.  
What puissance is this—this throe, this tumult—  
When tulle-wrapped love meets a gyre of grief?

Ululation beneath pavonine skies, 
Adumbrate every glance, every sigh.  
Crimson weave keeps a skirt in place,
Valuable, stained, adorned, and slain.

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Bill Baker August 13, 2025 at 6:59 PM Well thought out and written with great intensity and contrast. I enjoyed your thoughts on unnecessary struggle and your use of metaphor. Your vocabulary is impressive and well used throughout. Good luck in the contest, my dear friend. Bill

Valsa George August 9, 2025 at 1:57 AM Great penmanship, amazing use of vocabulary and very intense metaphors, reflecting the inner turmoil. Lofty diction, demanding more than one reading. All the Best, dear Lasaad!

sara Etgen-Baker August 7, 2025 at 4:45 PM I can feel an intense conflict as I read this poem. I especially liked: "Quixotic penchant for connection," the contrast between quixotic and penchant speaks volumes. Although I needed to read it a couple of times, I found your poem compelling and engaging. have a pleasant evening, dear Sotto.

Jay Narain August 7, 2025 at 10:29 AM This is a strenuous, dare I say beautiful struggle captured in verse—a poem that doesn't comfort, but confronts. Its layered diction, heavy symbolism, and intense emotional drive speak to inner turmoil, longing, and the bloodied beauty of grief. It's not easy reading—but emotionally rich and compelling.

Yann Rolland August 7, 2025 at 3:02 AM waw, so impressive alliterations, this is a wonderful poem to hear and read; one of the best, bravo poet

Victor Buhagiar August 7, 2025 at 2:21 AM Is this from Greek philosophies? Great vocabulary use. Each line a masterpiece, really. Wonder if it's not placed first.

Rowena Velasco August 7, 2025 at 2:13 AM Beautifully haunting—your language is rich and intense, like grief wrapped in silk. Every line feels deliberate. Loved it.