Spoon feeding in the long run teaches us nothing but the shape of the spoon.
E. M. Forster
There was no spoon feeding life to me,
gentle nibbles from a mind set on
sugar coating there would be more
days of blackberry thorned hours than sweet pudding.
How does one speak of horror
to a child who trusts fairytales
grow reality from glittered imaginations?
I learned so very young monsters
don’t leave when a storybook presses
them between its pages…They stalk you
at dinner tables, in empty rooms,
within the sound of voices oblivious
to screams trapped in the cage of your throat.
In the oddity of breathing terror circumstances turned
me comedian, precocious child full of questions,
a crybaby at scratches while silent in the clutches
of a demon.
In the etiquette of spoons never judge
the one who doesn’t hold it correctly.
She may be a survivor who’d rather
eat the soup than explain why she
doesn’t have an affinity for shallow silver.
©Susie Clevenger 2022
Spoon feeding can be a hard lesson to learn if ever. I wish monsters could stay in between the closed storybook but, unfortunately they lurk everywhere. It's amazing where you went with this image. I thought the spoons looked tarnished much like life some days.
ReplyDeleteOh my Susie, I read both fiction and fact into this truly captivating piece. I am hoping wholeheartedly it is fiction my friend, because the levels I descend if it is indeed fact, are deeply unsettling. Happy holidays, and all the best in 2023. Man, I remember the Y2K scare as if it were yesterday, not 23 years ago! 😳 … oh well ✌🏼🕊❣️
ReplyDelete"I learned so very young monsters
ReplyDeletedon’t leave when a storybook presses
them between its pages"
OMG what a poignant write Susie!
This piece is a must
-read-again
Much💌love
A poem with its own fire and teeth.
ReplyDeleteEach line is so full of deep meaning - a wonderful piece of writing <3
ReplyDeleteMy sister, five years younger than me, but
ReplyDeletevery old, older than she thought she would live,
still looks under her bed before getting in.
She's on a big and sad druggie high?
wishing you
a MERYY CHRISTMAS and a HAPPY NEW YEAR.
..
ReplyDeleteIn the etiquette of spoons never judge
the one who doesn’t hold it correctly.
Rightly so, Susie! They are prompted by their own idiosyncrasies within their own rights! Wishing you happy holidays and a Happy New Year!
Hank
This is a powerful poem my friend. Your writing always gets to the gut of things and grabs the heart Susie! I follow a poet on Tiktok that is a survivor and her poetry is dark yet powerful. I think you would appreciate her writing. I will find a way to share one of her posts with you.
ReplyDelete"there would be more / days of blackberry thorned hours" - excellent language.
ReplyDeleteSo many monsters learned the art of escape from the pages of a book. This is a powerful, well written poem, Susie!
ReplyDelete