When summer’s sky is ripe with pungent crows
in pull of henchmen’s ropes and for your whims
I paint our world in blue; your voice, a noose
around my neck, is limp — with ragdoll’s limbs
and flailing upwards, mingle hair with clouds.
My sweater’s stiff, and from my shoulderblades
the leathered wings becomes a crazy shroud
against temptations of your black crusades.
The koi we bought is floating belly-up
reflected pale, its scales are dull as steel
of dirty blades and slithered songs; my cup
is drained and empty and my heavy wheels
are sinking slowly in relentless mud.
My heart’s a cauldron of fermented blood.
Landscape with Birds by Lucian Freud
Sometimes when I need some inspiration I browse for inspiration in the virtual artgallery. This surreal picture filled my head with darkness and surreal images. To balance the surrealism I injected some form and wrote a sonnet.
Linked to open plattform with toads.
Björn Rudbergs writings 
It is a classic shot that brings out the depressive feel in tandem with the ‘darkness’ mood of the picture.Great lines Bjorn!
Hank
Your imagery is so vivid, Bjorn, especially the description of the dead koi, and it serves for a very memorable metaphor in the context of your sonnet.
my cup
is drained and empty and my heavy wheels
are sinking slowly in relentless mud.
My heart’s a cauldron of fermented blood.
Such emotion! A powerful poem 🙂
this piece is heavy, and dark; there was an interlude before the all day rain yesterday, when the clouds hung heavy with no rainfall yet, just the dullness; it feels just like this again, reading your poem today
have a good Tuesday
much love…
Depression is hard but a bit of hope can lift us all:)
You are so very good. I love your writing. All of it. Absolutely fantastic.
Raw.
This is splendid to read, not only for your skillfulness with the form, but also the fantastic word choices, the leathered wings, the slithered songs……your opening line is a great hook, reels the reader right in. Wowzers, Bjorn! A wonderful read.
it is interesting how a pic can spark such different emotions in different people – that makes art so fascinating – so many layers
Sigh – some days are like that. When the koi is belly up, it is a sign…..
Terrific depressing imagery. Loved reading this.
I didn’t know Koi could swim belly up….the things you learn..
Alas they cannot swim belly up…
Dark and kind of spellbinding. I like the image of the belly up koi at the middle like a hinge and those last two lines.
A dark sonnet, the opening lines are my favorite ~ Did you mean noose, instead of nose?
Of course I need noose.. the alternative makes me giggle 🙂
Wow, that last line is a killer, Bjorn–brilliant!
Wow! I read and re-read to discern the emotions evoked. Bitterness and loss, sadness and disappointment. VERY intenst.
Great sadness and vivid description in this Bjorn, Well done. — Suzanne
I enjoyed this piece. I really like the painting you chose. It drowns me into your words.
Gosh… your voice a noose around my neck! That is such a strong idea, I had a hard time taking in the rest. Fantastic!
Mud and blood in your food poem and in this. The images of the dead koi are bang on. Intense poem, a kind of perpetual winter of the soul but then, that cauldron of a heart…
The title, the first line, the imagery throughout….all such a hook of imagery for the reader. Wow. Breathtaking and dark.
Wow! I am truly feeling this piece. Life has been a bit belly up lately. I am hanging on and breathing deeper. Thank you for asking.
Some very intense words and images in this. “The koi we bought is floating belly-up” seems – a somewhat off-beat conundrum – and adds a touch of exasperated chagrin to the piece that infuses a touch of irony into the dark surreal.