Doll by Emma Whitlock
You see the facets of my eyes, glowing in the dark;
glowing green and everseeing; silently
the whisper of my slander,
weaving cobweb of your past.
You feel the ties that pull you back,
and leave your open rib cage bare,
where every single heartbeat
is yet another coil that snakes around your wrist,
or a noose around your neck.
You hear the snap of pincers in the dark
the terror of my venom,
bleeds vitriol of choices wrong.
My screams in lidless eyes are glowing to remind you:
I am the spider of your past.
I tie you down — preventing you to move ahead.
This poem is in response to Margaret’s prompt of replay at toads, I choose a doll from the wonderful prompt and a little inspiration from Kenya’s challenge to write of the metaphysics world of Carlos Drummond de Andrade, and especially The House of Times Past, it got me thinking about that empty place called our past, and how it ties us down, preventing us to move ahead.
I also link this to Poetry Pantry
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November 23, 2014
Björn Rudbergs writings 
wow. i dont want to be in that situation but this is an intense writing.
Bjorn, Very creative to think of the past like a spider binding a person and keeping them from moving ahead. Well written. 🙂 — Suzanne
the past do tie us down, and your use of the spider to represent it is simply awesome. 🙂
Completely chilling – Terrific write
Those terrible sticky things we do… that never go away. Scary.
Clever! In animal medicine spiders are the most creative-always working, weaving and waiting! I love how vividly you wrote-yes, scary good!
ouch!! weaving darkness!! but that’s the reality…an awesome write…
The image of being ‘a spider of your past’ will stay with me for a while. I picture being caught in someone’s web, and it frightens me….as does the premise of your poem!
I guess the past is never totally behind us but the kind of past you describe is terrifying. I liked your use of extended metaphor.
This feels like addiction saying “I will never let you go!” Scarey.
A mood-imbued piece, and it is true the past does travel with us, dogging our steps. Sigh. Great write, Bjorn.
Perfect choice of words to create a metaphysical mood.. great one 🙂
Gave me shivers and memories of Other Mother.
Strong words….’is yet another coil that snakes around your wrist,
or a noose around your neck.’ I felt my past reach up and silence me many times and these images brought it all back…I love the spider of my past as now I know what it is and can face it….really loved this!
Glad I read this. Can certainly relate to it. Your words so rich and perfect.
An excellent work of ekphrasis poetry – the concrete becomes abstract with your skillful pen.
Terrible to think of your own heartbeat feeding the snare but of course it does. You have woven so many threads here from slander to genuine regret all making for a sad and human paralysis– we all have eight legs at moments. Thanks, Bjorn.
Excited to be back here again with you Bjorn and this is great! Your very own voice is becoming evermore distinct, I think and even when there is no recording available, I hear you loud and clear my friend… With Best Wishes Scott http://www.scotthastie.com
very dark that spider!!!
have a nice Sunday; happy you dropped by my Sunday Lime
much love…
The past is a great place to visit, but I wouldn’t want to live there. Now I’ll be thinking the past is a wee bit darker thanks to your venomous spider, Björn. Loved this piece. Truth in the darkness.
A great thinking-through that web of the past which is also our spirit-net. Maybe the past won’t let us go until we have finished its labors.
Love it very much, Bjorn! Esp. lines:
‘You hear the snap of pincers in the dark
the terror of my venom,
bleeds vitriol of choices wrong.’ ~
Cool image! x
Bjorn, frankly, this scared the crap out of me, in exactly the right way. Conjuring the spider as someone’s past, magnificent idea. But man, creepy as hell, beginning with the pic, which was right out of every artists’ nightmares, I’ll bet!! Extra good. Amy
Something to remember, what we do today weaves the web of the future. And our past can trap us. Great write Bjorn.
Bjorn, thanks so much for your comment on Cronifiscence. Again, you are that rare man who “gets” women and how the genders interact. One of many qualities I dig about you. About you which I dig. Dig About Many Qualities. …i give up…….
The past does hold us back – though often, it is the people from our past weaving the cobwebs, I find. If only there was some way to leave the needy ones behind without stepping on them and squishing them completely.
I truly felt the “I tie you down” line. Powerful and haunting.
The spider of my past…I have been to often caught in its web. I agree, this is haunting and powerful.
“the whisper of my slander” is really cool. Perhaps we should all create a doll that reflects us – I wonder what we would create. The past obviously can trap us, keep us from moving forward. Nice poem!
I don’t like spiders and this write scares me even more but every bit of this write is a truth indeed. Our past is like a web and we are tangled in it very deep.
The speaker’s tone brilliantly captures the unrelenting and menacing strength with which the past can hold us back. Loved it.
Oh, yes. Powerfully written, Bjorn…to pair the two challenges together was brilliant…they fit well together. This poem is alive with the movement and descriptors. Enjoyed this!
Interesting and dark. Sometimes things in the past need to be made up for and sometimes they have to simply be let go. What a shame it is when a person cannot move forward because of the past.
Very unsettling, particularly visualising, ‘My screams in lidless eyes are glowing to remind you’.
Oh, a wonderful poem ….
ah ha a dark edge to your wonderful writing – this was excellent
The past can be a spider’s web, but might become a dream catcher. Much depends on the eye of the beholder and the heartbeat of a seeker,
Elizabeth
http://soulsmusic.wordpress.com/
Hey Bjorn, your poem is haunting and true. I have been bitten by one before. 🙂
A haunting poem…
Strikes a chord…
i read this in two ways…an actual spider (which is terrifying!) and the spider as symbolism of one who wishes to hurt us.
lovely and dark!