Lara Reyes-Terry, Week #4: Come Out of That Dark Water
Come Out of that dark water
Narcissus reborn, the bathroom is the new river-pool
To skinny dip in.
She looked over the river’s edge and saw
The careful form of a wonderful stranger
And
Realized in the warmth of the light
He longs to come out
of that dark water.
Reaching out from depth and drowning
Artist kisses the hand of the muse in the river.
Eyes tracing color and body arch
Searching for what makes the masculine,
Eyes dark as the earth flowering open
Golden core.
He longs to come out
of that dark water.
His skin is soft roasted, cocoa powder
Orange undertone
Bending into green with the light-angle like the serpent
Beckoning Eve.
The fruit is the apple is the knowledge,
It is the freedom and the first sin
Was discovery upon podium of open lips:
Speak your truth sweetie, like God said
“Let there be light”
What will you create in his absence?
He longs to come out
of that dark water.
The truth pirouettes and slithers out the corners of mouth,
Words sucked into ceiling vent,
Will anyone really know when the smoke
Never comes out
easily.
Carried by wind, it prefers a truthy breath
Not choked on heavy by bows and belt and
Back bent back into straightness because
Even God existed in darkness first.
You learned that sweetheart.
Take a bite—be guilty,
Let that reflection be the fortune you
Dare to dream about
Coming out.
Dare to dream about no
Misinterpretation.
No “pinocchio” metaphors to
Closet into.
Come out.
Bear the wrong body,
Power’s teeth in your shoulders mumbling about how
You’re the threat.
Crawl because you’re too afraid to stand
And the voice in your head is screaming
For you to get up and be the man you know you are
You didn’t need a birth certificate to prove that you are
Desperate,
A crime in fourteen countries,
Scabbing your knees from kneeling,
Begging to be believed without
Simplifying what you are to one word:
“t _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ r.”
Come out
of that dark water.
The choice was hers to make,
So she pulled him forth.
I hated
that dark water.
The mirror ripples:
Baggy sweats both halves handed down from my brother,
Suit and tie without the corporate crime,
Loose jeans and cowboy boots a guy told me were real.
So I wear them because I like it better
And I’m as real as the leather.
I emerged wet and gasping.
From ink and paper.
I am not the reflection of a strange woman.
I look over the river’s edge and see no one else
But me.
I love how between the both of us as poets, we tend to rely heavily on imagery and metaphor. There are so many impactful statements in this poem; one that especially stood out to me was “a crime in fourteen countries,” which made me think of just how suppressive the world can be towards the expression of human identity. It’s ironic—human society is, obviously, built and sustained by human activity, so you would imagine that it would be centered around honoring human nature. Yet, our own species forces us to conform, pressuring us to fit in rather than to let the world fit us. Existence in all of its forms becomes resistance, and it can take a heavy toll on people who actively contradict societal pressure simply by being themselves. You captured that feeling of having to climb mountains just to exist normally every day so beautifully, succinctly, and probably accurately, too. As someone who is cisgender, I can’t imagine the struggles you’ve gone through just to be who you are, and I’m grateful that you (along with the speaker of your poem) are still able to vibrantly be yourself as much as you can.
ReplyDeleteI loved how you compared your experience to the Greek mythology of Narcissus and tied elements of the myth throughout your poem. It created a poem full of rich imagery and multiple layers. I found myself rereading your poem again and again as each time I found a new and more complex level to your poem. I also loved how the italicized sections of the poem kept a consistent topic of the water yet changed in meaning as your understanding and view of your own Identity shifted.
ReplyDeleteThe shifting of pronouns to refer to the subject throughout the poem is a really nice touch to indicate the subject you are talking about. The references to the myht of Narcissus and the pond used as a reflection adds a layer of complexity to the metaphor that is very interesting, and I really like the subtle references throughout the poem! Also the choice of using a poem makes reading a really smooth experience and gives it a nice flow!
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