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sunshinegypsythe living and the dead
Published: 2009-06-30 20:35:02 +0000 UTC; Views: 6962; Favourites: 227; Downloads: 84
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Description I lie on the floor, I cannot bear
the bed, the sheets, so sweet smelling
soft. I lie on the floor like it is the deck of a ship
before a storm.

the things I used to tell you
no one knows,
the nightmares followed us home, but I like
to think you have learned the secret -

where to begin the forgetting. I
put you in a room like a moth
in a jar, listen for your last breath, open
the door, but you are gone

the scent of burning
hair, the animal fear, the way your
knees brush each other like leaves,
soundless

I lie on the floor, my hipbone falling
between beams, dirty laundry under my cheek,
I fall asleep watching the rise and fall
of my bed.




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Comments: 141

FuzzyHoser [2012-02-23 04:08:45 +0000 UTC]

Fantastic writing, Kate.
The detail and emotion are so very strong.

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sunshinegypsy In reply to FuzzyHoser [2012-02-23 04:11:06 +0000 UTC]

Thank you so much. It was just one of those poems that kinda wrote itself. Hah. I really did sleep on the floor sometimes.

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FuzzyHoser In reply to sunshinegypsy [2012-02-23 04:18:26 +0000 UTC]

You're welcome. Those poems are usually the best kind.

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sunshinegypsy In reply to FuzzyHoser [2012-02-23 04:24:14 +0000 UTC]

I agree. You just suddenly see the world in a unique way and have the words to say it.

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FuzzyHoser In reply to sunshinegypsy [2012-02-23 04:29:43 +0000 UTC]

Mmhmmm...without effort, it's so lovely. (:

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TheLunaLily [2012-01-31 16:22:14 +0000 UTC]

Wonderful. Daily deviation well deserved.

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sunshinegypsy In reply to TheLunaLily [2012-02-02 03:31:54 +0000 UTC]

Thank you very much.

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TheLunaLily In reply to sunshinegypsy [2012-02-06 23:53:08 +0000 UTC]

You are very welcome. <3

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ExistenceWeSummonYou [2012-01-11 10:29:44 +0000 UTC]

Well this is an excellent poem. I'm glad I stumbled upon it. I was particularly struck by the way the word 'soundless' hit me; for me the structure made it so that the phrase "before a storm" was at just the same time echoing in my mind and it produced a very strange feeling.

And a Jeannette Winterson quote! Reading 'The Passion' was such a powerful experience. She is one of my favorite contemporary novelists.

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sunshinegypsy In reply to ExistenceWeSummonYou [2012-01-12 03:12:57 +0000 UTC]

YAY!!!!! Someone who knows Jeanette Winterson!! Art & Lies is my favourite and I am rereading it right now. And thank you for the lovely comment. It was one of those poems that was just bursting to come out of me.

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ExistenceWeSummonYou In reply to sunshinegypsy [2012-01-13 08:14:05 +0000 UTC]

Ooohhh... I'll have to read that one! I've only read The Passion, Written on the Body, and Art Objects (which is non-fiction). Of which The Passion is my favorite. She seems like a poet who keeps writing novels instead of poems, and that's probably why I like her so much.

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sunshinegypsy In reply to ExistenceWeSummonYou [2012-01-15 00:25:18 +0000 UTC]

I know!! I read Written on the Body in a Lit class in college and was like OH GOD I LOVE YOU. And then I read everything I could get my hands on. Lighthousekeeping is kinda out of her norm but quite good also. Art & Lies is a monument of art.

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ExistenceWeSummonYou In reply to sunshinegypsy [2012-01-15 03:48:03 +0000 UTC]

I'm so glad you reminded me of her books. I am for serious going to pick up a copy of Art and Lies this week and read it.

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sunshinegypsy In reply to ExistenceWeSummonYou [2012-01-15 03:54:02 +0000 UTC]

YESSSS!!!! I'm rereading it for like the 10th time. Haha. I use a different pen every time I read it and date the front of the book and underline what moves me as I read. It's like a journal now, so many different versions of me being moved by so many different things, but always that book. I always go back. PLEASE tell me what you think.

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ExistenceWeSummonYou In reply to sunshinegypsy [2012-01-30 20:23:21 +0000 UTC]

I read it! It was brilliant, brilliant, brilliant. I'm so glad you reminded me of Winterson's genius. I wrote a short journal entry about it. I think what I most admire about her is the way she embraces her excitment and love of language - so many writers seem to repress that excitment, maybe afraid they'll scare off the average, professional class novel-reader.

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sunshinegypsy In reply to ExistenceWeSummonYou [2012-01-30 21:48:12 +0000 UTC]

I know!! I first read Written on the Body in the college and I was addicted. I'm so so glad you read it and loved it! She says such powerful things.

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beeswingblue [2011-09-10 03:23:48 +0000 UTC]

Stunning.

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sunshinegypsy In reply to beeswingblue [2011-09-10 13:57:55 +0000 UTC]

Thanks!!

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beeswingblue [2011-02-05 16:51:48 +0000 UTC]

Amazing. And I opened this on 5,000 views. This piece is worth every one of those and thousands more.

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sunshinegypsy In reply to beeswingblue [2011-02-05 16:59:23 +0000 UTC]

Haha. You should get an award!! And thank you.

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beeswingblue In reply to sunshinegypsy [2011-02-06 01:09:24 +0000 UTC]

You're very welcome, award or no. You write beautifully and emotionally. It's my pleasure.

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sesam-is-open [2010-11-26 14:04:12 +0000 UTC]

Featured [link]

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Jade-Pandora [2010-09-09 19:53:57 +0000 UTC]

I'm so glad this piece has been included in the V25 publication ...congratulations!

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sunshinegypsy In reply to Jade-Pandora [2010-09-09 20:00:36 +0000 UTC]

I'm so excited too!!! I can't wait to hold it in my hands

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Jade-Pandora In reply to sunshinegypsy [2010-09-10 03:01:15 +0000 UTC]

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Elmara [2010-06-16 16:00:55 +0000 UTC]

that last stanza is fantastic! wonderful work loved these lines:

I
put you in a room like a moth
in a jar, listen for your last breath, open
the door, but you are gone

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

sunshinegypsy In reply to Elmara [2010-06-16 16:42:08 +0000 UTC]

Thanks!

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TwistedAlyx [2010-05-09 05:36:09 +0000 UTC]

I lie on the floor like it is the deck of a ship
before a storm.

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vespera [2010-05-09 05:04:59 +0000 UTC]

I adore the final stanza

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sunshinegypsy In reply to vespera [2010-05-09 15:51:25 +0000 UTC]

Thank you!

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umbras-et-lumina [2010-04-27 01:47:52 +0000 UTC]

A very much deserved DD.

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sunshinegypsy In reply to umbras-et-lumina [2010-04-27 02:11:36 +0000 UTC]

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rennskye [2009-10-31 05:32:34 +0000 UTC]

First and foremost, you have done a wonderful job here. You made me stop. Breathing, thinking, anything but feeling it just stopped as I read this. So.... fantastic.

A few lines really caught my heart, I'd like to let you know some about 'em.

"I lie on the floor like it is the deck of a ship
before a storm."
I felt attached to this line because it suggests that, while the relationship - supposedly - is over, the troubles from it have not yet broken. It's only the wind whipping before the storm head crashes over, and that's very often how it is. It's a perfect depiction of the state of shock just before the despair.

"the scent of burning
hair, the animal fear, the way your
knees brush each other like leaves,
soundless"
I loved this, because the first two are raw and broken and harsh. Like slicing yourself open and baring it for the world to sear further, but the last two - or one, as it may be read - are very far from that. It's personal, private, lost, and you have to wonder 'did that even really happen?' after the fact.

"I fall asleep watching the rise and fall
of my bed."
And this, I think, is the most important. Because it makes the best a host to a great happening, a time line, more than a simple object it's a story of everyone who's ever filled it.

This is fantastic.

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sunshinegypsy In reply to rennskye [2009-10-31 06:03:38 +0000 UTC]

Oh, wow. This is a great comment!

did this really happen? Yes, I was thinking that a lot while I wrote this. It ended up being a medley of bad things crashing into me that brought me to the floor writing this poem. I didn't want to cram a lot of descriptions of these things in the poem (rather focus on the effect of the memories). But that is just the perfect way to describe the whole thing! Thanks so much.

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rennskye In reply to sunshinegypsy [2009-10-31 07:22:40 +0000 UTC]

I think the way you put it together was just about perfect. Simple, a bit painful, and full of feeling.

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mylovebattlefield09 [2009-10-31 03:24:18 +0000 UTC]

It.... took me a couple seconds after I had read this before I teared up. The imagery... Gosh, it's gorgeous, and my senses ache.
Beautiful.

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sunshinegypsy In reply to mylovebattlefield09 [2009-10-31 03:33:09 +0000 UTC]

Thank you so much.

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mylovebattlefield09 In reply to sunshinegypsy [2009-10-31 03:45:56 +0000 UTC]

Very welcome... I just... love, raw emotion.

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sunshinegypsy In reply to mylovebattlefield09 [2009-10-31 03:58:26 +0000 UTC]

I confess, I do too. Honesty can be really powerful. Probably why people use it so rarely!

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mylovebattlefield09 In reply to sunshinegypsy [2009-10-31 20:24:51 +0000 UTC]

Yeah... it scares me, when I'm honest.

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otakuartistgirl [2009-10-31 02:37:04 +0000 UTC]

quite a lovely piece <3
well deserved dd :]]

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sunshinegypsy In reply to otakuartistgirl [2009-10-31 02:50:37 +0000 UTC]

Thank you.

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MichioMich [2009-10-31 02:19:58 +0000 UTC]

i lurve you.

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sunshinegypsy In reply to MichioMich [2009-10-31 02:50:47 +0000 UTC]

Thank you.

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RaviZak [2009-10-31 02:19:00 +0000 UTC]

totally deserved that DD

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sunshinegypsy In reply to RaviZak [2009-10-31 02:51:09 +0000 UTC]

Thank you.

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Hasop [2009-10-31 01:46:13 +0000 UTC]

i'm not usually one for literature, but this is interesting.

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sunshinegypsy In reply to Hasop [2009-10-31 02:52:16 +0000 UTC]

Thank you.

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RogueofAsgard [2009-10-31 01:03:32 +0000 UTC]

this just made me cry........ beautiful. utterly beautiful.

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sunshinegypsy In reply to RogueofAsgard [2009-10-31 01:27:21 +0000 UTC]

Thank you. I'm glad! (Not that you cried, but that it reached you!)

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