A name on the list

by Karla   Dec 4, 2011


They hid refined cruelties beneath the green armor.
She watched everything paralyzed on the faded red sofa
as her heart shrank slowly and the dolls were broken.

First some shouts and slaps, then punches and blood
and blood and blood through the endless night.

"what do you know girl?"
She knew the purity of pure despair, the truth imposed by fear.
She knew she had to respect what disrespected her.

When they left, grandma in tears kneeled down,
clasped something in her hands and prayed and prayed and prayed.
Tick-tock-tick-tock-tick-tock

She still has his glasses in a box with some withered petals.

Nothing was said or seen.
More than thirty years have gone by. He is another name on the list.

Karla Bardanza
http://asmoonsewsthesatinstars.blogspot.com
http://ourpoetrcafe.blogspot.com - with my friend Cinda Berard

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  • 12 years ago

    by Decayed

    Karla, lol I cannot out-do Mera Luna with that comment.

    Does, your words and wisdom and imagery are flawless, suffice?

  • 12 years ago

    by Saerelune

    "They hid refined cruelties beneath the green armor.
    She watched everything paralyzed on the faded red sofa
    as her heart shrank slowly and the dolls were broken."
    ^ What caught my eye here was the colours green and red being juxtaposed. If I had to picture this scene, it would certainly be black-and-white, with the exception of the green armour and the red sofa. It draws my attention and sets a horrific mood.
    "Green armor" - very interesting choice of clothing (literally) and defence (metaphorically). Such a medieval object is very hard to place in this poem, especially because the reader is not so sure who/what this armour belongs to. But I believe that this piece is very personal and therefore loaded with personal symbolism.
    My favourite line must be the last one, though. Dolls are a very stereotypical object of childhood, to place it as something broken next to a shrinking heart really intensifies the overall scene.

    "First some shouts and slaps, then punches and blood
    and blood and blood through the endless night."
    ^ This reminds me of traumas, the way images keep repeating in our heads, just like the blood that this little girl sees. Your choice of words is simple and direct, words such as "endless" are common but with the repetition you manage to make the night alive.

    ""what do you know girl?"
    She knew the purity of pure despair, the truth imposed by fear.
    She knew she had to respect what disrespected her."
    ^ Clever word-play! The person who asks this question obviously wants to know something important from her, yet she is so struck by fear, she only knows what her emotions know. My favourite part of the whole poem. I think what makes this so powerful is that you decide to describe this from a third person's view. The narrator distances himself/herself from the scene. Yet the fact that "all that she knows" is known by this narrator, is striking. It's as if all the fear and hurt could be read from her body language, her eyes.

    "When they left, grandma in tears kneeled down,
    clasped something in her hands and prayed and prayed and prayed.
    Tick-tock-tick-tock-tick-tock"
    ^ I have to admit that the effect of the repetition is starting to dwindle here. I think that here, I would've preferred much more gestures of praying. I can still feel the despair though, and this constant ticking of the clock truly makes the reader a bit nervous, if he/she imagines the way "grandma" is probably shaking her head in tears and lowering her forehead to the ground praying. It's just that perhaps the reader needs a little bit more of a push into the right direction.

    "She still has his glasses in a box with some whitered petals."
    ^ I assume you mean "withered petals" here. :) This is very interesting as it seems like "grandma" still cherishes the things that are left. I think the truth is starting to unfold here. At first I thought this poem was about the abuse of a little girl, but now I see that the man is the victim. It makes much more sense now. It still makes me wonder whether there are three characters in this poem, or two. Perhaps the third character I had in mind, was just "grandma" in her youth. All possibilities, but they don't take anything away from the poem's intensity.

    "Nothing was said or seen.
    More than thirty years have gone by. He is another name on the list."
    ^ Excellent ending. Although you repeat the title, which could be taken as trite, the word "another" makes a striking difference between ending and title, although they only differ in one word.

    I think you made good use of your devices here. Structure and repetition being the main ones. You know how to put the reader into a situation and make it alive, then slowly unfold the mystery while making use of subtle symbolism (glasses, withered petals). It's also nice to see you can pull off a poem with longer line, since shorter ones are the current trend. It's difficult to keep things flowing and tensional with longer lines, since you don't have much advantage of enjambment, but you succeeded. Well done Karla, on the technical aspects, but also for putting so much soul into something as deeply psychological as this.