The purple thistles of Scotland

by Karla   Oct 26, 2012


Will you blow her candle
when time comes?
She is too tired to do it
by herself.

Her heart has always been weaker
than her flesh.
She has loved so many men
but it wasn't them she kissed.
Her body sang another song.
Can you understand a woman like her?
I have always seen her anti-existential life
as a mystery and a challenge.

Will you serve her another glass of life?
She is thirsty for things she doesn't know yet
because they have no name.

Somebody told me when she closes her eyes,
she still sees Scotland.
His accent loved the silent broken stars in her dark eyes.
She only loved the unreachable Poetry in him.

When she talks about the Isle if Islay,
I feel she is buried there between the transparent shadows
of yesterday and the annihilated purple thistles.
Will you blow her candle?
She has never been so vulnerable in her life.
Just one more thing:
Be careful when you do it
because a gentle blow may lead her
to open the window again.
The fall hurts less than life.

Karla Bardanza
http://asmoonsewsthesatinstars.blogspot.com
http://skycladatmidnighttumblr.com

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Latest Comments

  • 12 years ago

    by The Queen

    Will you serve her another glass of life?
    ^ this and also the ending line are enough to describe how potent this piece is.

    I love all of your poems, Karla. Each and every line of your pieces holds intoxicating feelings.

  • 12 years ago

    by average thoughts

    Ur poems r so deep karla..layers aftr layers..
    D more u read, d more u explore.

    U r an inspiration..

  • 12 years ago

    by Hellon

    Well...I assume you have googled these beautiful flowers which are the emblem of Scotland but...unless you have actually visited you cannot see the vibrance in colour...they are wild, as you probably know already? Prickly....you suggest this here...not strickly true...a rose has many more thorns but some would suggest these flowers are of more beauty?

    The Isle of Islay?....I wonder why you added this? It doesn't seem relevant to the content of the poem but seen as how you have...yes it's an island but no one in Scotland would say it as such...it's just Islay...

    Good poem none the less....5 from me!

    • 12 years ago

      by Karla

      Thistles are more beautiful than roses. Islay is unforgettable. I suppose the woman in my poem left her heart in Scotland.

  • 12 years ago

    by Baby Rainbow

    Will you blow her candle
    when time comes?
    She is too tired to do it
    by herself.

    - this opening leaves space for many thoughts as to what the candle represents. My first thought was a cancer or terminally ill patient who is asking their spouse or family to help them blow out the candle when she knows it is time to leave. Such a sad thought but powerfully written. My second thought is the candle of love and hope, and how she is holding onto this but knwos the time will come when it will end because this is what she has been taught in the past. This time she does not want to go through the pain so is asking for them to just blow it out for her so she can exit without pain.

    Her heart has always been weaker
    than her flesh.
    She has loved so many men
    but it wasn't them she kissed.
    Her body sang another song.
    Can you understand a woman like her?
    I have always seen her anti-existential life
    as a mystery and a challenge.

    - This seems to me like she feels she is damaged eyond recognition. Too compliacted for anyone to begin to figure out and so she gives up on letting them in to try, in fear that they will hurt hurt or walk away.

    Will you serve her another glass of life?
    She is thirsty for things she doesn't know yet
    because they have no name.

    - this is interesting because i translate this to mean that she wants so much more, but she is unsure of what she truly wants or what it is that will give her the feelings she wants, perhaps love and comfort.

    Somebody told me when she closes her eyes,
    she still sees Scotland.
    His accent loved the silent broken stars in her dark eyes.
    She only loved the unreachable Poetry in him.

    - The line of the broken stars in her eyes really got me, this is so sad and then you mentioned they were silent so basically no body could see her pain and how broken she felt, and yet this one man seemed to notice perhaps? Although it is interesting you say his accent noticed this and not him in person.

    When she talks about the Isle if Islay,
    I feel she is buried there between the transparent shadows
    of yesterday and the annihilated purple thistles.
    Will you blow her candle?
    She has never been so vulnerable in her life.
    Just one more thing:
    Be careful when you do it
    because a gentle blow may lead her
    to open the window again.
    The fall hurts less than life.

    - powerful way to end the poem, you are adding information about the title, how you came across the title and what the relation to it was for the character. It holds a lot of memories for her and some deep thoughts that she drifts off into, before returning to this same conclusion that she feels like she doesn't belong? Or perhaps that she doesn't deserve love?

    Very complex poem and so beautifully put together, well done.

  • 12 years ago

    by L

    Intriguing piece, I love your word choice and the tone this piece has. It's like whispering I don't know but it sounds like that when I read it. Sort of like warning someone.

    It really is a Wonderful piece.