But the hand of fate, in the form of a loving adoptive couple, saved me.
Abandoned before you here
two desperate needy children
clad in the colors and worries
of their brutal lives
torn shirts
of melancholia’s hues
buttoned in the black of loss
the jackets of pain
are sorrowful blue
threadbare
wrinkled
dirty
the pants are tattered
in shades of despair
belted in the stretched leather
of struggle
buckled in the deep-scarred burnish
of hard knowing
faded and patched
seams unraveling
strained with strife
they are deeply stained
with anguished tears
and the unseen blood red
of raw violence
of heartbreak
shoes scuffed with fears
laces broken
or knotted with regret
roughcut
by the blade of burden
these are the fabrics
of their lives
blended in the palette
that defines sorrow’s essence
by these colors
and textures
you know them
raggedly sewn
with woeful tales
profoundly moved
I dress in their stories
patterned and purple
as night terrors
*
rob kistner © 2021
Poetry at: dVerse
This line, “I dress in their stories patterned and purple as night”, from Kimberly’s Blaeser’s poem, “When We Sing of Might”, is incorporated in my piece.
Powerful stuff, brother. We were on the same wave length it seems. I wrote of homelessness too. Black & blue and unseen red; excellent use of hues. I like the way you used the prompt quote.
Thank you Glenn.
Another fantastic write
Much love…
Thank you Gillena… 🙂
Well done. Clever to add the word.
Seemed to fall into place Judy.
You really worked this prompt into a heart-rending poem Rob!
Thank you Ingrid.
The pure tragedy of it all when children are its victim.
So terribly sad Misky! 🙁
This story is a true reality for many around the globe. Lost children who have not roots and not connections except to one another. Well done Rob.
Thank you Dwight!
Rob, one of your best ever. You have managed to capture so much of what it means to be an abused/neglected/exploited child. This really gets to me:
“by these colors
and textures
you know them
raggedly sewn
with woeful tales”
Your ending shows that even when childhood is left behind, it is still carried 🙁
Thank you Lisa. This write meant a great deal to me.
You have given the homeless children a voice, Rob, and oh how heartbreakingly sad it is.
Pax,
Dora
A profound sorrow Dora, abandoned children. I was one btiefly, but I was saved.
Beautiful…
-David
Thank you David.
I love how you wrote this. The pictures remind me of Fagan’s boys in “Oliver Twist”.
Thank you Mary, glad you enjoyed this.
Well done, Rob.
I was one of those kids — it’s not dnough.
Painfully evocative!
Thank you Reena.