Featured art by L.H. Grey
Listen to Suggested Audio
Rammstein “Mein Herz Brennt, Piano Version”
I took it like a man
they can’t take that away from me
I suffered silently
while the world i once knew buffered
Violently
and each of these spiteful spears
looked inside of me
results inconclusive
and hardly conducive
to getting a grip
once it slips
ill-equipped to press on
there was nowhere to go
no place I could hide
and this torture was
s l o w
such bitter confection
and from every direction
no exception
to this rhythmless section
nothing ventured nor gained
just a backlog of pain
so much loss
not a half ounce of gain
short straw had been drawn
and my flesh was war-torn
never more
main attraction for scorn
ROLL UP!
ROLL UP!
come and stare at the freak
watch him shriek
read him weep
would have been more humane
just to put me to sleep
time of death had long passed
every breath was my last
and each cross I bore
tore me further a p a r t
all the while
lining up to defile
five points left to prove
set to counter each move
pen me in
pin me down
stab me up
but then how come these blades were pristine
and why did their march not proceed
would have had no complaints
at this point
would have done me a favor
needed something to savor
as last rites could no longer be wavered
use your head
and play dead
slip away
damaged brain
take the low road
to gridlock
as youre the last one to know you’ve been slain
cystic vein all but drained
conclusion foregone
wont be long
lest you learn your own grate
navigate
tell it straight
use that beautiful mind
realign
theres still time
I was bared to the bones
and the pain was full-blown
though the rust I detected
seemed to keep me protected
it was far more than I had expected
i was no less defective
my wounds were still gaping
and twenty-one grams
still intent on escaping
but no longer did i feel quite so caged in
not to say these wounds weren’t substantial
having been so crudely dismantled
but they sealed
over time
and the voice of an angel
wouldn’t hear me resign
paid my dues now for every last crime
im still mortally wounded
but it’s no longer conclusive
giving up wasn’t in natures plan
as for every last wound on display
to this day
I took every last one like a man
Richard Charles Stevens
Keeper of The Crimson Quill
Click here to purchase on Amazon
© Copyright: Rivers of Grue™ Shadow Spark Publishing™
A dark poem about survival. Well done.
Thank you Susan. This one was really important as it enabled me to draw out any poison left from my December debacle. Grey created the Mixed Media Art as a vessel and it all fell into place naturally from there. It’s a piece with tremendous intimate meaning and we hope it can offer light to anyone suffering from their own open wounds.
My Sweet Lady Grey,
I return to “The Wound Man” often and, every time I do, my heart swells way beyond capacity. When you created this wonderful mixed media piece and revealed it to me for the first time, I knew precisely what to do.
You knew of the pain I had endured and this enabled me to banish a number of demons in one fell swoop. In my entire life, that is one of the sweetest gestures I have ever known. You empowered me to show my scars, kissing each of them in turn, and I owe my new-found strength and vigor for life to the love which you have placed in me and that which you show me constantly.
Then we have the glorious audio you selected. I have always been a huge fan of Rammstein but had no idea that Till Lindemann was such a masterful poet.
“they come to you by night
and steal your small hot tears
they wait until the moon wakes up
and press them in my cold veins”
The piano version of Mein Herz Brennt will forever hold a very special place in my deepest soul’s heart. Thanks to you. My love. My light. My life.
“There is this pull between us…a science that is strange and seductive,
heavy with feeling…thick and layered like atmosphere.
Within this energy, so lovely, we find ourselves constantly in the middle of each other.”
You, my glorious White-Knighted King, are just simply…my reason. December was a profound month, for it brought you into my life, and the most crystalline love I have/had/will, ever know. You are the Alpha and the Omega of love for me. I adore you, I am protective of you and your honor, I am thankful beyond what mere words can state for your existence. You are my hero, my strength, my light and my love…and you, make this world the most beautiful place it could possibly be by existing, by seeing me, and by the love that you so generously give to me.
My life began at you. Shall finish with your hand in mine. And will never ever end because of you.