echo John Doe
From the veil, birthed, I was blind
Lost – from night to night – unkind
Ash or clay, that clad my heart
I did not know, the end from start
Spurned the light from darkest yoke
My fear, my grief, the pyre did stoke
Bereft, stripped of tongues and teeth
In linen, sleep, your dreams did wreath
I know I am cruel, unjust, and vile
Of your sight, reason for a dim smile
But you do not know how it truly felt
Cut by angles and bones, in frailty dwelt
Helpless – bound! – my only grace
Gentleness, for none’s sake, in a place
Where I was cast adrift, ashore, and lost
Like coins, of which I counted the cost
It did not have a body to call its own
Nor a name or grave, stood once alone
Nevertheless, I lay upon stone a lily sole
Against it all – a John Doe, with a living soul
–
Mosaic
Glittered and stained anew
Vivid, violent, vicious hue
Past the sun, a slyer shirk
Lit aglow the tiles that lurk
Behold the pews stretched beyond
The bluebell sky, bruised, and awned
Rose the incense, sweet and sickled
Fount blessed, tapered and trickled
A pallid mask – so frightful and true
Bound the half and whole, I and you
For in the mirror cast, the blackest lake
Ripples bleak and tarred, fit to break
Then whose cry pierced the dusk?
The blighted solitude, a lifeless husk
Starlight spun and hewn, but I knew not
The crown I chased, the love I sought
I look into glass, at last divine and foul
Entranced, wretched, at the facade’s scowl
Still, beyond my skin, my flesh and bone
I am only ever parchment, cut and sewn
–
Da Capo
Waylaid, a stranger stole in the night
Raised a toast of blood and sand!
Hid his grin, amidst fervour slight
“My friend,” exclaimed, “You stand
bare without cheer or gin at hand.”
White as snow, as newborn ash
Gleamed his teeth against a suite
Of kings and queens, a rosy lash
“Don’t you remember?” chuckled fleet
But I do not, and so say nary to greet
“Friend!” The choir cries, a rising dove
A bow of curtains, that tenor’d shriek
Pried freely gentle, aloft, a silent trove
Fluttered the evening gale, fierce and bleak
Bedrock, bedrock – and I, bidden and meek
Once dwelled a canary within my home
Bespeckled coal, the strangest sunlit plume
I wonder if it deigned to dream to ever roam
“I know not, who are we,” again, said whom
I, ever shrouded and sole, in murky gloom
–
Bitterest Winter
Amidst the frightful lay of dark
I stumble lost, for a voice to hark
My breath caught upon the winds
Parched and dry, my hope rescinds
The baying of wolves heed my steps
Oh heard, disavowed, pitied mayhaps
Bloodied tracks as white as tears
The frozen lake, my bones did pierce
A covenant – a belly full of meat
Cawed the crows, the lambs to bleat
Grey as slate, patter’d a soundless rain
The forlorn firs flutter, a soul to feign
Amidst the cruel rise of light
I stumble lost, a shade of night
My knees bowed, bloody, and bent
Yet stood tall, bitter, to the descent
–
Self-made Gods
Potter, try your expert hand
Shape a doll so tall, so grand
Flay the mud and bones and skin
A lovely smile – contort the chin
Poet, recite a verse or sonnet thee
Once wished and hoped to set free
Till voice hoarse and soul spent
Back on the streets – without a cent
Dancer, rise and sway enthrall
And await the curtain’s final call
Contort and bend without a lack
Till breathless, pale, a swollen back
Musician, the garnished stage’s a-set
Play a sparrow song and do not fret
Spur the notes and keys in ivory-blaze
And pray it drowns the hound that bays
–
Playground Ghosts
Silver lights, above with glee
Hued, gentle, flawless mask I see
Know beyond my skin and bone
How afraid I stand, and so alone
The voice of wind, a feathered shawl
The thrushes trill, a blackbird call
Floats a carpet cloud of grey
Rain applauds but starts to pray
The playground ghosts push the swing
Long to night, the dusks of evening bring
Stained glass memory glistens vibrant
Wooden chimes sing, solitary and silent
Cherry pits split, wine red and rich
Line to line, the start and end to hitch
First a peg, second a dowel hewn
Holds a starry cradle and sets the moon
–
Daughter Mine
Nestled within my arms
I vowed to keep you safe
From the world and its harms
For it did not spare me, a waif
I name you lamb but in truth
My shepherd I held, the light
That led, my heart to soothe
A newborn lodestar in my night
The cry my heart knows only
The breath you take, the beat
Of your heart, never lonely
The patter of your small feet
And so, to the dusk, I still play
The piano loved, to guide your way
With fingers bruised, sunk to sleep
Among the stones, I sit and weep
–
Epithet
Once, in my grief, it was told
That life was loss, and I alone
The tides of wind, bitter and cold
The only comfort to be known
To my soul, I say this too shall pass
And remember it engraved upon a light
That neither time nor wish, only memory
Shall remember the dead through eternity
Written by: Trishta
Edited by: Hoe Yan
