Moss of loneliness (NaPoWriMo)

The green, moist moss of loneliness in my chest
supine leaves whisper unsung songs

The whispered songs follow me in my dreams
blistering pearls fall freely from the eyes

Blistering pearls falling with thundering noise
leaving razor thin cuts where they fall

Razor thin bloodless cuts left by angry words
pain rises like irate welts all across my body

Irate welts pulse like the vein in my neck
beating, beating, beating waiting for respite

Beating, beating down the door
desultory despair comes looking for shelter

Shelter seeking despair finds welcoming home in
the green, moist moss of loneliness in my chest

Today’s NaPoWriMo challenge is to write a “duplex.” A “duplex” is a variation on the sonnet, developed by the poet Jericho Brown. Here’s one of his first “Duplex” poems, and here is a duplex written by the poet I.S. Jones. Like a typical sonnet, a duplex has fourteen lines. It’s organized into seven, two-line stanzas. The second line of the first stanza is echoed by (but not identical to) the first line of the second stanza, the second line of the second stanza is echoed by (but not identical to) the first line of the third stanza, and so on. The last line of the poem is the same as the first.

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