How long do you think
you can ride the coattails
of blissful ignorance?
Isn't it flagrantly obvious that
you are skating on thin ice...
and equally evident that
you're living on borrowed time?
How long do you think
you can get away with avoiding
the elephant in the room?
Have I been the unjaded enabler
whilst my silence should have screamed
to you louder than any multitude of decibels?
AP: Honorable Mention 2025, Honorable Mention 2025
I’m skating on thin ice;
I’m just skating by and I’m gonna fall,
and that’s alright;
I’m skating in a figure eight,
I’m just skating by on a decrepit lake,
and that’s alright;
It’s better than something new;
I’m skating around skirting hazards,
I’m just skating by in an endless circle,
and that’s alright;
No need to make any changes;
I’m skating at a familiar pace;
I’m just skating by not being pushed,
and that’s alright;
No need for a little bit more;
I’m skating below unseen visionary,
and that’s okay;
Said nobody ever.
you've never been the best thing since sliced bread
your presence always felt like hell
you being around in the house felt like being tossed in satan's fire
i'd listen in on your conversations with mother
with you lying through your teeth
swearing to not beat her again
the next day you'd come home drunk
saying corrosive words
so much that mother would run to neighbours for help
we would spend time skating on thin ice
trying to not bruise your ego and get burnt
with nowhere to run to
nowhere to run from your obnoxious self
nowhere to hide from your monstrous ethics
mom always justified your way
love convinced her that maybe you'd change
but unfortunately for us, you were a leopard
i applaud you
for you ate all our hopes and dreams of having our own families
while you were acting holy and nice to others
you forgot to be a divine being to your blood
skating on thin ice
afraid of slipping
afraid of it cracking
afraid of falling into the icy water beneath
i feel the chill
i feel the threat
i hear the rise and fall of danger
whistling in the air around me
happy voices clamour with children's screams
i have no voice
it is too cold outside
my breath comes in short, sharp spurts
words caught in my throat
words that stop themselves forming
unlike the puffs of smoke i breathe, dancing in the air
my skates are strong but the ice is not
i am right in the middle of the rink, no side to clutch on
disaster threatening
but i keep on going
no other choice.
regain my balance
skating on thin ice
hoping it won't crack
hoping i wont fall into the icy water beneath.
skating on thin ice
in my bare feet
i am tightrope walking in
my big chunky boots
i sympathize with fire
numb to the burn
then swallow it whole
to quench the yearn
to satisfy this craving
i pretend i have wings
becoming accustomed to
these busted up knees
don't mind me, i'm just
tracing circles through the air
you think i'm getting nowhere
but you just wait
you wait and see
i'm more
than you
will ever be
Fun
Skating on thin ice describes for some
that nice Deception--fun,
taunting the chill fathom
beneath the white skin.
Too much like spending
small change for me.
All that over-shoulder peeking
to be sure the depth's not there.
When one hard look would send
those enamel eyes
crashing through
a surprise of air.
He stamps the ice beneath his feet
Fallen leaves, gifted from the trees clinging to his soles
Softening the thud of clumping boots
Patterns shimmer in the fading light
As he trudges up the path
A reveller hoots
Somebody laughs
A drunk is haloed in the street lamp’s torpid glow
Echoes of himself; of seasons long ago
Surely the decorations were much brighter
Surely the streets were full of singing
Red robins; church bells gaily ringing
Fragrant pine and holly
Those were the seasons to be jolly
Couples kissing ‘neath the mistletoe
Santa bellowing: “Yo ho ho,”
Of course there was proper snow
Not damp and mist
And rain
It’s plain
They’d got Christmas all wrong
Again!
His feet begin to glide
On frost mimicking snow
On his face a grin
He sails through his gate
Never too late to recapture
The rapture......
Of an illicit skate
In this ??cold weather?,
Don't give me the ??cold shoulder?
because you have ?#cold feet? about us.
We were skating on thin ??ice? with our first date.
But how else could we have tested the? waters??
I mean, that's why people break the ice in the first place..
COMPLEMENT*
You told me once
That my eyes are the most beautiful you
Have ever seen
I replied:
If true, my love,
Is only because into them your stunning beauty
Is reflected!
© Demetrios Trifiatis
04 NOVEMBER 2013
*I am aware that writing this poem I am skating on thin ice,
BUT , wanting to pay back the complement a lady made, I came up
With this answer for I do not think she is right!
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