He Saw The Woman

Creative Forums Creative Writing
1

A parasite attached and fed on blood,
Within the woman he began his growth
As did his hunger and defining form,

And, writhing, flailing, in a cushioning sea,
He felt her warmth, but could not feel her pain.
When she evicted him he screamed himself.

He found the woman ripe with mother’s milk
When he, a helpless lump of hungry flesh,
Could only say his need in wordless wail.

He saw rhe woman as his one way back.
To that edenic womb that pacified
Without exacting anything from him.

A gawky, fumbling youth, he saw her then
As needed proof of who and what he was–
A hunted hunter judged by what he caught.

Then, lubricated in the coupling dance
Of life and death, he trembled, numb and spent,
Unsure of anything but repetition.

He saw the woman as a looming lure,
An addicts fix, another hungry other
Devouring worlds to justify existence.

He saw the unity a moment gave,
That ecstasy of two becoming one,
Could not make jealous any timeless god.

And, yet he saw her as the missing piece
Of puzzles of his image of himself,
As somehow joining isolated themes.

It will not do to ask how his sight failed.
He saw within the hurt of who he was.
His cruelest lies were those he needed most.

(Thanks Jonquil for the edit.)

2

Very nice, lerellus. This would make a great song. I keep thinking of Willie Nelson singing your songs, even in jail for smoking pot. O:)

[Last line: needed instead of need?]

3

Nice.

FLD

4

Thanks, folks. What made the poem happen–
Philip K. Dick and Elvis Pressley both survived twins. Dick’s twin was female. In his novels I see that theme as a main character’s attempts to deal with what he believes is the loss of his anima, a loss that engenders conflict between need and resentment. Pressley idolized his mother and eventually saw other women as inferior versions of her. The poem tries to capture the effects of both losses of parts of a self.

5

That is such an interesting source of inspiration. It shows how important an integrated anima is, both to the psyche and to leading a healthy life.

[I’m going to reread the poem now with this in mind. Thanks.]

The poem really opens up with the lost anima theme in mind; and now I know why this stanza spoke to me so strongly on first reading:

And, yet he saw her as the missing piece
Of puzzles of his image of himself,
As somehow joining isolated themes.