The Negative Space
A poem
I am wistfully suspended in a the black abyss of what is and what isn't. I am neither here nor there. Do double negatives make a positive? Your vague tongue is the liminal gray. I'm looking for subtle differences in the shades of your shadow, endlessly wondering, if your lines are on the tip of your tongue or buried beneath. Is it possible to manifest the intricate laminations of a multi-dimensional dream? Am I on edge of truth or are these lies I tell myself? I'm looking for repeating patterns - colorful fractals, geometric tessellations... They're never a sure thing, like rain pounding on the roof, more like subtle as the evening breeze - the serpentine trees just barely a-sway. Or, delicate snow that piles so softly most of the dendritic crystallizations will never reach the ground. I feel the cortisol spill. It is so slippery, I fall, and I'm unable to stand back up. Fire pretending she is water. Isn't that just the cutest most unwitting little disguise? Douse me with gasoline instead, and my burning heart will illuminate what is real. Is love just a diagnosis of exclusion that relies more on the absence of darkness rather than the presence of light? Are there signs from beyond? Or do they narrow from the inside... deep down in all the places where blood surges, or the butterflies flutter about? Silence is your sacred temple. I am tightly bound in the negative space now. Can't you see my captive despair? All these pertinent negatives, my own saturated denials squeezing out every last bit of... hope. When you actually speak, your words have been known for their mythological beauty. Where is your sweet soliloquy now? The Elysian Fields are waiting for us. I won't leave this unsaid: Just because you don't say something doesn't mean it doesn't exist or it isn't actually true.
Other Poems:
Holly, your writing really touched me — there’s so much emotion and honesty in the way you express these thoughts. I don’t know what life looks like for you right now, but if you ever find yourself going through something difficult, I hope you’ll remember that your life has real value, and that what you’re doing here — turning your feelings into art — already proves that. Even when it’s hard to see from the middle of it, there’s real meaning in what you create.
We can’t always control what happens to us, but we can choose how to respond. However heavy things may feel — now or later — your voice and your life still matter. Keep creating, keep moving forward, and give yourself time to rest and recharge when you need it; you’re doing something beautiful.
Holly, your command of language is something incredible.
This is a stunning piece. Also! Fractals and Elysian the word were both on my mind today. ✨️