Friday, March 1, 2013

Red


Red

Alone, I close the door behind me
And let the image scatter
Let go of the smile, and the frown
Let the mask relax
It has no purpose here
Beyond words and expressions
Only me
Peel back the layers one by one
And let them fall to the floor
Back before this body
Before humanity
Before good and evil
Through naked primal forces
To when there was only blood.
The hot water falls red with it
It is the reddest thing I’ve ever seen
The original, universal, stark against white
Screaming its vitality as it flows toward the drain
I don’t know if it is unclean or powerful
No difference
If it is birth or death
The blood pushed out with a healthy newborn
Blood pumping from a man’s chest as his eyes stilled
I’ve seen both, and it looked the same
Inseparable
In this time, for this moment of every day
Such distinctions do not exist
Unity running red down my legs
The pain I have suffered, the pain I have caused
The gifts I’ve been given
And the gifts I have to give
All are embodied here
My life
Not draining out of me
But effusing from me
Too filled with passion to be contained
I let the heat engulf me, drum out the tension
Flow over me until the water runs clear
And step out feeling
Renewed

-Lucille Tower

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