Wine, Blood Red
by Sarah Laurenson
Waking with no thought of last night,
Until you ask: ‘What do you remember?’
Not tripping over the tree root,
Nor crying on your shoulder.
Disconnected pieces of the night,
Floating through a sea of nothingness.
Saying ‘I Love You’ to a stranger,
Masquerading as a friend.
Tiny bits of conversations.
What did I say after the curtain fell?
Dead memories that never return.
Explanations required. None given.
I’m afraid to ask,
Acknowledge what I’ve lost.
Were the cops involved?
Did I hurt anyone?
The light in your eyes dims.
‘No.’
I feel your pain.
I would care, if I knew how.
You urge me to get help,
Go to therapy.
I don’t want to know,
That I don’t remember.
I touch the rim of my wine glass.
What memories will die tonight?
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Get the winners of the first 12 Clarity of Night contests in one place! Extras too!!
Listening for the words in a quiet corner of the night. The fiction, poetry, and photography of Jason Evans.
About Me
- Aine
- Collaborator and night owl.
Past Contests
- "Elemental" Short Fiction Contest
- "Uncovered" Short Fiction Contest
- "Silhouette" Short Fiction Contest
- "In Vino Veritas" Short Fiction Contest
- "Ascension" Short Fiction Contest
- "Running Wind" Short Fiction Contest
- "Whispers" Short Fiction Contest
- "Restless Dawn" Short Fiction Contest
- "Halo" Short Fiction Contest
- "Endless Hour" Short Fiction Contest
- "Silent Grey" Short Fiction Contest
- "Lonely Moon" Short Fiction Contest (with Anne Frasier)
- "Midnight Road" Short Fiction Contest
- "Two Lights" Short Fiction Contest
The Official Compilation!
Get the winners of the first 12 Clarity of Night contests in one place! Extras too!!
Categories
- poetry (193)
- fiction (180)
- vignette (106)
- serial (59)
- lyrics (56)
- personal (52)
- insights (33)
- thoughts (31)
- cemetery (26)
- forest (17)
- nature (16)
- remembrance (16)
- writing (16)
- humor (15)
- beer philosophers (13)
- boating (10)
- experimental (8)
- movie (7)
- music (7)
- INTP (6)
- beatitudes (6)
- Ulrich (5)
- photography (5)
- Nami (4)
- night conversations (4)
- cemetery reflections (3)
- stream of consciousness (3)
- Clarity Notice (1)
- emotion study (1)
Visitors
~clausum~
30 comments:
Wow, Sarah. That is so lonely. Very intense.
Lovely.
Lonliness is a huge pain.
'Disconnected pieces of the night,
Floating through a sea of nothingness.'
Great verse here
alex
I like the mood of this piece. ... Blood Red Wine, Black Out.
Sarah, this is half poetry half story, and it really works. Such a sad sad story, and one all too familiar where too much alcohol is involved for too long.
I agree with Cat - I especially like that this gorgeous poetry tells a story. Superbly done, my friend!
Thank you all!
I'm wading through all the wonderful entries here. What great company to be in!
I've never read any of your poetry before, but this is very strong! You captured lonliness very well--and I agree about it being a combination between a story and a poem. It's quite beautiful...
sarah, a superb piece :)
Sarah - I didn't have the nerve to try poetry but yours certainly works here. You say so much in so few words -- the essence of good poetry. I really, really like this.
Lovely, haunting piece! Powerful last lines too! Well done!
this is a lovely intensely poignant piece. I love it!
"I would care, if I knew how."
That's a well-aimed knife, Sarah.
Well-written. It's abstract but tells a story. I really enjoyed this.
This is a treat.
This was done so very elegantly.
You've made it look so simple. Fewer words making world of impact.
The other character plays its part so well too. Those little hints portray so much.
Great work.
Powerfully evocative.
(and a little thank you commenting and for 'getting' my little story!)
A tender, chilling feeling of something lost.
Wonderful sense of resignation to the demons that anyone familiar with addiction can relate to.
Thats an amazing piece ... Such a touching poem of fear and loss !! Wonderful !
Thats... so subtle, yet so deep. The flashes of memory, the fact that the person stopped caring - this will stay with me for a long while.
Sarah, this is superb. The style is so evocative, the introspective voice so bereft. It makes for a wonderfully rich and poignant piece of writing. Beautifully done.
Wow. What great comments. Thank you so much.
I was over halfway through the entries, until I had to work and many more poured in. Still planning on getting to them all - somehow.
Beautiful, Sarah. Everything rides on the two lines:
The light in your eyes dims.
"No."
So simple, yet so filled with everything. Those lines represent that moment when we should notice those we love slipping away, but we don't. This makes me sad because it doesn't have to turn out the way it inevitably will.
Beautiful. I hope this is considered among the finalists. It is deserving.
Sarah - I found your poem incredibly moving. The story of the alcoholic anaesthetizing her own self-loathing and continuing the cycle of emptiness in so doing is powerfully wrought. There is so much expressed here in so few words. Even the empty spaces you left are full of thought-provoking poetry.
Beautiful.
Beautiful.
'Saying ‘I Love You’ to a stranger,
Masquerading as a friend.' Beautifully put....in fact, it is all absolutely sublimely well written. Breathtaking. My favourite poetry entry by far.
Truth ignored - nicely written.
Beautiful poetry Sarah!
One of the most poignant views of addiction. Not wanting to know that you can't remember. That cuts. Must be vile to feel that way.
Welcome to The Forties Club!!
Thank you, Jason. It was vile.
And a huge thanks for holding this competition! The amount of work you and Jaye (and Aine) put in for this is overwhelming.
A big thanks to all who commented and all who participated. This was a very enriching experience and I am grateful to be in such great company.
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