Dirge for the Dreamer by NL Shompole | Poem No. 10 (NPM2017)

 

Dirge for the Dreamer

by NL Shompole

 

This is how to dismantle a life, us sitting at the dinner table, last night’s supper (untouched) still between us, the sweet sour perfume of rancid rice and half drank wine telling us it’s long past time to walk away.

 

This is how to untangle a life, how to unravel the bitter sweet constellation fading between us. This is how to cover the ruins, mourn for the dead, the dying, the decaying remnants of a dream. This is how to bury the kiss. The fighting, the late nights driving through the city because the house is too big without you, too empty, and somehow too full of thoughts of you… too full of tears, and hope, always hope.

 

This is how to un-remember, this is how to keep the ghosts at bay – walk away and don’t look back. Not until the memories have been reduced to ash, to dust. When the sadness comes creeping in, and it will, it will, it will, take a bath. Wash the blue tint of phantoms from your skin and choose the dawn, no matter what, choose the dawn.

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You can get copies of NL Shompole’s poetry books here. You could also check my review of Lace Bone Beast here. 

when disaster strikes, a lesson in euphemisms by NL Shompole | Poem No. 6 (NPM2017)

when disaster strikes, a lesson in euphemisms

by NL Shompole

 

When a house burns in the fire , never say ‘my house burned in a fire’ lest you invite the fire back, say ‘the wind took my house,’ or ‘the water came last night’ and when a man leaves you with no reason or notice  never say ‘my lover he left me’ lest you invite the spirit of leaving into your home, say ‘he went on a journey,’ or ‘sometimes I remember him.’ This is how you keep the ghosts of always leaving from claiming you.

 

Get NL Shompole’s poetry books here:

Kingdoms in The Wild

Amazon

Check my review of her poetry book Lace Bone Beast here. 

Lace Bone Beast: Poems and Fairytales for Wicked Girls by N.L. Shompole: Book Review

Synopsis from Goodreads: Here is emptiness. Here is a mouth after a recent excavation, black with soot, devoid of kisses. Here are hands, trembling against the soft ache of morning, here are eyes, wet, wide, half-full of sky and loneliness. Here is belly, back, femur, spine, ragged and smooth all at once, all at once. Here are dreams, ink black and speckled, lost behind the eyes. Here is a muted elegy, crow’s feet feathered over the eyes like lace. Here are the last strains of a dirge, wild, discordant, free.

Publisher: http://kingdomsinthewild.com/

Publication Date: January 10, 2017

Date Read:  December 2016

Source: Publisher provided me an e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

REVIEW

For big fans of milk and honey by  Rupi Kaur you will definitely enjoy this one, or even more. Lace Bone Beast isn’t something you come across often, it was truly a gem. The way the author painted each scenario is impeccable, enough for you to devour every thing that is written. The poems were sincere and raw, it had the power of enthralling its reader without overdoing it. It was perfectly digestible, every meaning of each poem was not lost on me. It has the ability to draw you in, it has the ability to elaborate something so profound and offer it to you in a different light. It empowers just as much as it accepts you as your true self. You don’t encounter something like this on a daily basis, it was an affirmation of life’s ever mysterious ways such as grief, love, forgiveness, self-worth and everything in between. It was truly something one should read at least once in his lifetime.

NL Shompole has the talent on making you feel the impact of her every word. And I now consider her as one of my favorite poets. I love that her poems are something you can identify with and is also something that only gets better each time you read them. Her poetry is brimming with wisdom. They say poetry is the highest form of literature, and NL Shompole did an amazing job in this collection. It was subtle when it needs to be, and assertive when it must. You wouldn’t miss the message it was trying to send across. It had a keen observation to details without missing the essence of each poem. It wasn’t overwhelming. If for anything, it offers comfort and support.

It was surely a pleasure to read this poetry book, I can highly recommend this one to readers who want to venture out on poetry. NL Shompole’s writing style will hit you straight to your heart, and yes it will linger. Her poetry is the kind of poetry you’ll crave once in while.

Rating: 

the heart is a casket for forgotten things

Love the body through

all the stages of ruin, and

resurrection.

 

Love the body through

the dark winter, and

into spring.

 

Love the body

for it has housed you

through the collapse, and

the catastrophe.