Becoming Consumed
“The Great Dying has begun,”
says the grim woman in this online group,
referencing the cicadas of Brood XIV.
And yes, I hear them less–but there’s so much
I tune out now: the heartbeat puff of air
from an oxygen condenser, certain TV shows
that pass through me like water,
and many other things I have loved once
before becoming consumed
with what was right here: the cicadas,
the sanitary bed,
the page its own kind of bed.
And the million little stories I make up
to get through to the other side.
10 thoughts on "Becoming Consumed"
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Beautiful! I especially like the last two lines, but the whole poem moves really well from cicadas to the oxygen condenser to certain tv shoes and finally at writing, which is how people like us try to hold on to all the million-noted little night things that are passing through the world just like we are.
Happy to be consumed by the “million little stories” that are getting you through! I love your work. (btw I still have a book with your name on it – if you are in Lexington any time, let me know and I will get it to you)
I love this poem! The leap from the cicadas to the rest of life is really interesting.
The one line I didn’t get was the sanitary bed. Maybe it’s a reference I’m not getting, but if you’re still doing editing on this, maybe that’s a line that could be expanded to hit the emotional note your going for?
This poem is full of great lines like the TV shows passing through you, but the best line of all is about getting yourself through to the other side!
Keep writing and dreaming and thinking your way to the other side.
Love the details here, and the huge expectations established with that first line!
plump and bursting throughout, especially love:
And the million little stories I make up
to get through to the other side.
Terrific, Shaun! Those last 5 lines are killer.
Wow! “the page its own kind of bed” — fantastic! I agree with Kevin. Those last lines, perfect.
You keep on getting better And better!
You bring the world down to a small space of reality, and that makes this powerful.