She wears red, a match waiting
for the right kindling to turn
a cold room into a bonfire of heathens.
for the right kindling to turn
a cold room into a bonfire of heathens.
A wink, a blush, plump lips walking
the fine line between the blank spaces
of a hell fire sermon, she is the Jezebel
the pious curse, and the bold wanton
they never take to confession.
With splashes of jasmine holy water
she baptizes those strong enough
to relish their weakness, and teases
eyes to admit their obsession with curves.
While the choir sings blindly of light
they can’t feel, she collects the tarnished
notes of their hypocrisy, and rewrites
the blood song into Eve’s freedom from Eden.
©Susie Clevenger 2022
Wow! Passion, rebellion, authenticity ... I like this kind of bleeding heart!!!
ReplyDeleteThat is quite the word portrait! I can easily see her delighting both in her power to draw the eye and her power to take all that energy and create something liberating from it.
ReplyDeleteEve's freedom from Eden... I like the sound of that!!!
ReplyDeleteIntriguing and beautiful imagery
ReplyDeleteWowza wow wow! This is an Eve to like.
ReplyDeletegreat imagery in the verses, especially in the last stanza.
ReplyDeleteperhaps the line between good and evil is sometimes not that clear.
just wondering, does it read better if you take the "and" out? :
ReplyDeletethe pious curse, and the bold wanton
LOVE THIS: and teases
eyes to admit their obsession with curves.
Wanted to say I really like your header image. Did you create it?
ReplyDeleteEve's freedom from Eden? Interesting image...
ReplyDeleteI love this! The intense voice, the passionate tone, the reality of it all... The last stanza is my favorite bit, especially the closing.
ReplyDelete