“Unmask” by: Maxence
the evening breeze freshens
as the copper windchimes
hanging over the slate breezeway
ring from time to time
swinging from the blue shingled eaves
just beyond
the big roan
rustles in his stall
as the faded red slats
of the weathered horse barn
creak in the gentle zephyr
inside
at the green oaken table
we sit with dinner
and complacency
there is little resonance
we care for one another
our love goes without saying
meal finished
we clear the table
to the clinks and clanks
of porcelain dishes
and sterling silverware
being rinsed and placed
in the stainless steel sink
we converse very little
no need
we know each other
we know without saying
task done
we part quietly
me
to my rosewood desk
to my keyboard
you
to your tan leather chair
to your book
outside
sunset softly shades golden
the side deck
as come easy sounds
of settling horses
content from final feeding
tubular bells lilt quietly
in gathering twilight
inside a shadow of indifference
blankets subtle electronic ticks
as I type in silence
I think about the times we’ve hurt each other
caused each other thoughtless pain
but that carelessness has been forgiven
we are bound
one to the other
a bond that goes without saying
outside
a brisking wind greets day’s end
chimes vigorously keep pace
inside
a turbulent uncertainty
begins to stir
as the more I type
I wonder
are we really happy
surely we are happy
that goes without saying
that must go without saying
doesn’t it
but why is it we do not say
we wear these masks of coy silence
to hide the vulnerable face of love
how dangerously foolish we’ve become
it’s then
my heart wants to call out
to reach across the soundlessness
to rouse you from your pulp and plot
talk with me
I lift my mask
see me now
see me new
talk with me
I can still surprise
let us speak
what is not spoken
unmask what lies within our hearts
unmask
and talk
before our love is gone
without ever saying
outside
copper chimes
ring out in the darkness
inside
steel silence
sounds aloud
rob kistner © 2019
Holy crap, sir, this one shakes the earth. Long and lanky, I hung on every word, scrambling from stanza to stanza. What you have described is as complex as splitting the atom. The mask metaphor, the existential touches, nature just outside the window, the complacency that must be avoided, the pain that has not been named–a wild ride midst a symphony of silence; kudos, brother.
Thank you Glenn. Your acknowledgement is most meaningful brother…
Nice lines: “unmask
and talk
before our love is gone”
I also liked the description of the “shadow of indifference” that
“blankets subtle electronic ticks
as I type in silence”
Thank you FRANK.
Very well done, Rob! I felt like I was sitting across the room taking in all that you described so elegantly. Sort of like love, bound up in a Chrysalis, waiting to become a butterfly at some future appropriate time when conditions are right!
I appreciate your graciousness Dwight, always do.
I first read “copper wind chimes” where chimes is a verb, and then you turned me on my head and made it a noun. And then it just never stopped. Beautiful write.
Thank you Xan! 🙂
Excellent descriptive piece. Loved the part about the horse in its stall.
Thank you Toni! 🙂
I like the chimes that travel through your poem, sounding the different thoughts going through your mind. You’ve done a wonderful job of describing the intricacies of intimacy and the tenuousness of it along the way between two people.
Thank you Lisa. I love the sound of windchimes, makes me think magic is happening…:-) The magic of sustaining a vital relationship is quite difficult to conjure. I have s strong sense that the look, feel, definition, and reality of the relationship of a marriage will continue to evolve even further that it has to this point. It will require the last vestiges of my generation to be gone to enable an entirely new vision of the form and duration of a committed love relationship to fully manifest. The need for, form, and attitude toward procreation will continue to redefine itself. “Go forth and multiply” has little or no relevance in today’s world. The definition of family will be much different. It is difficult, and somewhat uncomfortable for me to try to clearly envision what that will ultimately look like — but I can clearly recognize that the fluidity of change is already well in motion.
This is beautiful Rob. And so often true in a long relationship. Say it! Pay attention to each other! so important.
Thank you Kerfe. Yes, we must be ever mindful.
This one line, “there is little resonance” opens the entire poem for me. What goes without saying so beautifully illustrated in the way sound weaves its way throughout the story. Beautifully written.
Thank you Victoria for your kind words. I am pleased this poem resonated for you.
So many simple things get left unsaid. This poem is a reminder to speak while you can. Love your ending.
Thank you Sara. Love must be spoken frequently.
I really love how you describe that silence first as something comfortable in how we can live together and then gradually like a pressure cooker heating I feel there is more underneath … or maybe in the end there is isn’t
Thank you Björn, I am pleased this resonated for you.