I cursed the sun
and you laughed.
I think you knew
the secrets I kept
when the light
withered away
and I slithered
like a snake
to the garden.
I bathed in soft moonlight
under the fig tree.
The ghosts there haunt…
Now, we salvage scrap
from this broken castle –
releasing stones,
I want to run
and scream
to the moon,
to the tree –
Handle
antiquity
with
care.
Written for dVerse Poetics, Sanaa is hosting and we are exploring Gothic poems.
For today’s Poetics, I would like you to write a Gothic poem and explore the question: “Which according to you are the deepest, darkest and most concealed of human emotions?”
Tricia Sankey 
Wow. Such imagery, Tricia – I just love it.
-David
Thanks, David! This poem flowed out 💖
Darkity, dark, dark, dark! I love this piece and the beginning lines… It’s something that puts you in a trance. A darkness in the narrator while everyone else recoils.
I get the sense that first others denied the darkness existed, or others could not understand it in the first place, which is why the castle crumbled down. Taking scraps from a destroyed foundation seems like they’re trying to get back to what everything was before the ruins; but you can’t always rebuild from ruins. The foundation has been poor for a long time for the castle to fall.
This is beautifully dark, mesmerizing, and captivating. I know some like to call me a poetess of darkness, but Tricia, you’re giving me a run for my money here.
Such an exquisite beauty of a piece. 👏
I love your comment, Lucy! There is something cathartic about dark poems and this was fun to write last night before I fell asleep. ❣️
Handle
antiquity
with
care.
Most definitely Tricia. — with great care! Wonderful write… 🙂
Thanks so much, Rob! 💖
This is beautifully haunting, Tricia 😀 I especially love; “Now, we salvage scrap from this broken castle –releasing stones.” Thank you so much for adding your voice to the prompt 💝
Thanks for the inspiration! Reading your selection of gothic poems really got me in the right place to delve deep 💞
‘Handle
antiquity
with
care.’
Stunning way to end this Gothic poem – who knows what secrets lie in ancient buildings and artefacts?
Thanks! Yes, old castles stir my imagination ✨
Trying to live in the past… yes that is the snake of the garden.
Thanks, Bjorn! I appreciate your insight!
I was thinking Adam and Eve scavenging around the ruins of their old home. Wide of the mark obviously, but you can’t get more ‘antique’ than Eden, can you?
Yes, the Garden of Eden was a definite inspiration in this piece. There is the whole Paradise lost and sin problem that lies in many of our haunted pasts! Thanks for your comment!🍷
Oh great! I was right after all. Yes, original sin is one of the most diabolical inventions of the Christian Church.
It wasn’t necessarily against any churches, but I think the parallels are strong within each of us that we endure a Fall at one time. Then releasing the stones, trying to salvage what’s lost, is like enduring painful memories. You have to handle the past delicately so that you can rebuild your future, kind of a message.
I can see that. And it sounds wise and compassionate. What a shame God didn’t allow for rebuilding and recovery.
I was thinking of the Garden with the snake under the fig tree. Your opening lines drew me in quickly. That last line of handling antiquity with care, came with a plea for understanding.
Yes, it is a plea and a type of warning. Thanks for reading! ❤
I love the last lines to hold antiquity with care. There are ancient places that hold the echoes of past spirits. They are to be honored.
Thanks, Beverly! You are right! 💕