when ten is twelve.

By Six-Out



as a kid.
I remember being told- that when you dream.
the colors are more vivid
and awe inspiring than anything
you could ever explain.
so when you wake- it all seems
pastel.

if this is the case.
then I wonder if the same is true for the
brokenhearted sleepers. dreaming
in red blood trails. if that pain
is something that the waking couldn't handle.
and if that's the reason
sometimes. when I rise.
my eyes are rain clouds, and I feel like
I have a stiletto
stuck through my chest.

and when you sleep.
does the past haunt more deeply
than any nostalgic moment can muster.
and do the flames of the past
seem like forest fires- leaving the edges
of your faith in fringes like an old
treasure map.
where the ex's don't need marks- and no matter
how fast you walk. you'll still end up lost
when you get there.


so I wonder.
are my dreams conspirators
to make the most mundane seem magnificent
and cement the fact that
broken hearts.
will never heal.

Unauthorized Copying Is Prohibited. Ask the author first.
© 2009 Jon Rodgers
Published on Saturday, May 16, 2009.     Filed under: "Poetry"
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Comments on "when ten is twelve."

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  • Leineco On Friday, October 4, 2013, Leineco (59)By person wrote:

    I caught this one using the "random selection" button.....what a present :-) I was completely captured by the flow of both thought and writing. Broken hearts never do quite mend completely. I was particularly taken by this section: and when you sleep, does the past haunt more deeply than any nostalgic moment can muster Very nicely done.

  • A poet of madness On Friday, March 18, 2011, A poet of madness (115)By person wrote:

    The one blessing is that we wake, and it gives us a chance to change things.

  • Sketso On Wednesday, July 22, 2009, Sketso (435)By person wrote:

    *applause* everything else has already been said.

  • lovechild On Thursday, June 4, 2009, lovechild (43)By person wrote:

    now i don't know what to say. my heart hurts

  • A former member wrote: Sadly...yes. Thats exactly it. No matter how solidly you bury something, the fucker will always resurface amongst dreams of zombie apocalypses and dancing cupcakes. I suppose the one thing we can be grateful for is that when we wake, the paid is duller. Love you Jon. wish I could write you a new heart_

  • Carmina Gitana On Sunday, May 17, 2009, Carmina Gitana (149)By person wrote:

    I love the clarity and nakedness of this.

  • Alanarchy On Sunday, May 17, 2009, Alanarchy (1200)By person wrote:

    Oh, Jon. Oh man. As you read, it's like your stuck in a car that went over a bridge, and every word is another inch of cold water through the cracks in the windshield... Waterboarded with heartache... That last stanza is a total murder. Cuts so close. I feel you, brother. Much love. Write on.

  • Mylissa On Sunday, May 17, 2009, Mylissa (845)By person wrote:

    I am glad to see that you wrote again, this is absolutely romantic and a tragic tone. You have a way with your words that melts a heart. This is no exception. I love it. Keep writing Mr. Jon!!

  • purr_verse On Sunday, May 17, 2009, purr_verse (1059)By person wrote:

    just simply: you are a very, very good writer indeed, sir.

  • A former member wrote: I thought you told me you didn't write anymore...

  • freudian-slip On Saturday, May 16, 2009, freudian-slip (239)By person wrote:

    "and no matter how fast you walk. you'll still end up lost when you get there." this was magical and thank you.

  • A former member wrote: Ass. I knew you'd write again.

  • Rachel On Saturday, May 16, 2009, Rachel (213)By person wrote:

    Probably.

  • ALBATROSS On Saturday, May 16, 2009, ALBATROSS (197)By person wrote:

    That first stanza really made me think about how a child sees, and I think you beautifully captured that which we lost as we age. It kind of serves as the benchmark of our sentiments in which we miserably fall short. When the reader then stops to imagine the brokenheart sleepers, you create another image entirely. There's beauty in the polarity you presented and I quite enjoyed this poem. Thanks.

  • A former member wrote: the lure of sleep.wa[l]king. . . .oz.ish . .personally, i seem to think i dream of future instead of past, or amaybe its the past AS the future all coming fully in reverie. but yes, the colours are so techni.wow. . . .like a surreal painting; 'what dreams may come'. . .. and the emotions are more alive than living ones....the melancholia here is so tense and 'vivid'. . ..and how what we desire burns brighter, both goodly and badly. softly said here.

  • carlosjackal On Saturday, May 16, 2009, carlosjackal (3015)By person wrote:

    The rivers of flames that rage in the unconscious, the subconscious of the brokenhearted. Never to be quelled? Excellent piece.


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