Purgation
In
blackness I carried you in my heart:
a burnt
cinder of what was,
an ember
of what could never be,
a gnashing
wound that would never heal.
The
silent screamer,
hidden
behind a mask of lies.
It
seethes, it bleeds
Gutting
guilt; a child that couldn't help her.
Fearing,
cowering; I'm no longer that child.
Justice
robbed; my depth of malice knows no limit.
Quench
that anger, they said
If only
they could see the beast that rages within
A hunger
that knows no sating
This
hatred needs to devour itself
This
wrath is tiring, consuming
It's time
I finally let you go.
As I
stand over your grave, I know you're nothing.
Less than
a dead thing, not even ashes, but dirt.
My
indifference becomes my release.
Your
release becomes my purgation.
Michel Weatherall
A native
of Ottawa, Michel Weatherall grew up as an army-brat living in Europe and
Germany and has since travelled extensively.
Having over 30 years experience in the print/publishing industry, the
transition to self-publishing was a natural step with his publication company,
Broken Keys Publishing. He has published 6 novels and 2 collections of poetry.
Other work (the poems “Sun & Moon” and “Eleven's Silent Promise” and
the sci-fi short story “Rupture”) have appeared in Ariel Chart's online journal
as well as a theological essay (“The Voice of Sophia”) in American theologian
Thomas Jay Oord's "The Uncontrolling Love of God: An Open and Relational
Account of Providence" (2015)
Weatherall's current books in print are,
The
Symbiot 30th Anniversary, The Nadia Edition, Necropolis, The Refuse Chronicles,
Ngaro's Sojourney, A Dark Corner of My Soul (poetry), and Sun & Moon
(poetry)
Honours
and Awards include
Winner of
the 2020 - 2021 Faces of Ottawa Awards for Best Author
2020-21
Parliamentary Poet Laureate Standing Nominee
2019 CPACT
Awards Nominee for Entertainment Excellence (Arts)
the quality of work this journal attracts is astounding. Fine job.
ReplyDeleteNot trying to be difficult but with all the rewards I was expecting a better poem.
ReplyDeleteThis is interesting, and I would normally not comment. However, this merits a response.
DeleteI am a poet purist. It is my firm belief poetry must have rhyme and rhythm. Meter matters. I believe a poem should be able to be sung. I understand Free Verse or Open Verse is a thing - although I can no longer make this claim - I would have said, I never practice it. (Feeling, for the most part it is simply lazy).
However, in this case, with this particular piece, I deliberately left it "unrefined," raw in its current form, simply due to the nature of it, and a truer rendition of its "feel."
Purgation deals with the deceased man who left my mother decades ago in an unmarked grave.
l like the gothic language to the poem. Feels old school.
ReplyDeleteI happen to agree with all the comments. it has a gothic old school feel to it and I find it worthy of publication but it needed more and could have been more. maybe that's what tony was getting at.
ReplyDeletei totally disagree and didn't find the poem to be 'too short' this comment seems to be about judging a person's bio and comparing to his writing. that's not a criteria that makes sense. criticize if you must but review the merits of the written word and not other factors.
ReplyDeletesorry folks the poem doesn't cut it and for the poet to reveal what it is all about, hurts the art that much more. And doesn't make it better. Write better than it will be better.
ReplyDeleteI don't see it as the poet revealing what it is all about. He clearly is explaining that this piece is outside of his usual (structured with rhyme and rhythm) structure and format and only putting it in context.
DeletePoetry is to rely one's thoughts and feelings on a topic for others to understand, - and even "feel it" - and considering the topic at hand.... how cold, hard, and cynical must some be?
Hard and brutal. Bother the piece and some of the commenters.
we do not see it the same, nothing new here, just like nothing new in people getting upset with tough commentary. that's writing for you it can bring out the bad as well as the good. With as many awards of these writer has got i really did expect brilliance instead of blah.
Deletethat last comment is a bit harsh, the poem is a solid effort, not going to win any awards but most batters don't hit a home run regularly. let's not go overboard with the criticism.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.arielchart.com/2021/07/ariel-chart-best-of-net-2021-literary.html
Delete5th line down.
Purgation, by Michel Weatherall, nominated for the 2021 Best of the Net Award in the category of poetry.