Red
This poem was written in November of 2021 for this project.
Rotten is meant to center on the inner thoughts of someone who's been abused or in someway left traumatized by another, overrun by their own anger at the injustice and helplessness of their situation.
I tried to write this poem more as a stream of consciousness rather than having anything structured. I also attempted to create a motif of color throughout it, constantly referencing red as a symbol of that anger.
Themes:
- Anger
- Abuse
I feel the redness
encompassing my soul, like
a body bag
it suffocates me.
All I sense is rust and red-hot
fury burning at my skin like I’m
branded,
scalding,
biting,
piercing
the flesh behind the eyes
needles
poking, pricking
sanguine ire, spilling rage like I’m about to burst.
Fervid irons searing.
I think of all are the things
you’ve done to me and that
you’ll never pay for what
you did
you don’t even know the pain
you’ve caused and it melts
at my guts
like a blowtorch.
Sickening copper taste
in my mouth at the
thought of living with
this pain,
this misery,
while you press on
leaving a trail of
heartbreak behind
you.
Carmine at my core.
Russet as my blood
dibbling on the ground.
Red.
Like me.
The
rednessis their overwhelming rage.
All of these lines use synonyms of the word
redto further that color motif throughout.
At this point, the
narrator feels as though they
arethe color red — fully consumed by their fury.