In Sigh of Eve
A breakup "nonet" love poem
On the breath of daybreak, a hare grasps
flame in heedful ears - listens to
the sun kiss Earth from sleep. A
romance burgeons between
light and land - horses,
wild, kicking sand -
then weeps in
(sigh of)
eve.
*
-Gina C. 🧚♀️✨
About the Creator
Gina C.
Poet | Author | Architect of Worlds
Sowing stories rooted in culture, origin, metamorphosis, resilience, language & love via fantasy, myth, magical realism & botanical prose
Writing my novel!🧚🏻♀️🐉✨
Reader insights
Outstanding
Excellent work. Looking forward to reading more!
Top insight
Heartfelt and relatable
The story invoked strong personal emotions
Foot Bindings
I asked my grandmother how she knew she'd fallen in love. I am not sure I ever did love him, she said. This was before I met my husband. I was naive, a naked spring, a raw nerve of a thing. That cannot ever be me, I knew. Sadness swept in gently like a Moscow thaw. It is no simple thing, looking into a woman's vast soul and seeing its foot bindings. Now, in Italy divorced with my skin singed off, when I say I don't love him mean: I have succeeded at feeling nothing most days and it mostly works. Do you want the comfort of Nothing? Do you want Nothing, too? Be warned: you'll never be free, even when you are nothing. Here is what doesn't work: Accepting the stages of grief. Talking about it. Sitting with the feeling. Missing him—no, the person you were when you believed in death do us part. Writing poetry. That, too. When I say I don't love him I mean: I feel capsized in an endless, starved tide. What sometimes works: selective memory. You must forget ripe tomatoes and his beard and feeling perfectly sheltered in a big blue world. Forget coffee in bed, laughter watching TV, blowing out the candles on the birthday cake and the quiet all-encompassing knowledge that you are chosen. Remember only how love turned to a banal everyday survival act, a trapeze act unsure whether he will catch you, how the warmth stagnated and became sour, remember the foot bindings and remember the resentment boiling in your veins as you stick it out for the kids. Six-hour Netflix binges help, too. A man's fingers tracing your spine. Frozen pizza at 2 a.m. Random trips to the museum just to stand near things that last a while. The realization that crying won’t change anything. Seeing that life is just a dream, and refusing to participate in your own suffering. Bite your fist. Walk on eggshells around joy. When I say I don't love him, I mean he didn’t break my heart, he just stopped touching it and it forgot how to beat right.
By Ella Bogdanova4 days ago in Poets
The Lesions of Devotion
Every day I set myself down on the freshly cut lawn and strip myself bare. I take my guitar and finger the frets and pick at the strings, listening for dissonance. My life is dissonance. I twist the tuning pegs until each string sounds bright. Then I kneel, calves pointing behind me, kneecaps facing forward. All exposed to the breeze. I close my eyes and play the melody.
By Paul Stewart6 days ago in Fiction
Comments (18)
The sun kisses earth from sleep 🥹 Ohhh Gina ❤️👌🌟 Another stunning poem x
So much history here in a short verse, lovely!
Lovely!
Top story
Congrats 🎊
Back to say congratulations on your Top Story! 🎉💖🎊🎉💖🎊
Oh. This is beautiful. Truly lovely. 🥰
Coming back to say 'congratulations' on the Top Story. Loved this nonet poem.
Beautiful, Gina!!! Congratulations on Top Story!! ❤️❤️
Look at you with back to back top stories. Well done, you beautiful genius.
Oh this is GORGEOUS poetry - I would have picked it for top story for sure! Such gorgeous imagery!
Stunning, both poem and picture
Jaw droppingly beautiful, Gina!! What a wonderful addition to your stunning collection of nonets!
Whoaaaa, how did you even think of thos concept for this challenge? It's soooo beautiful and creative! I loved it!
What a beautiful and unique take on the challenge. Well done, my friend.
Simple, elegant, beautiful.
Excellent nonet
Oh wow, this is spectacular!!! I think I almost like this one the best of your entries so far. Breathtaking, my friend :)