_________________
Without you
My soul lies
An inner
Pompeii
Frozen
In time
Mounds
And
Mounds
Of fallen
Ash and
Century old
Magma
Weigh
Down
Inside me
What
Could have
Been
Should have
Been
Would have
Been
Alive and
Thriving
A volcano
Of love
Our volcano
Erupting
From us
Molten
Pleasure
Our very own
Carnal Pompeii.
So come back
To me
Bury me
With the
Contents
Of your core
Be my
Vesuvius
And leave me
Nevermore!
________________
About the Creator
ᔕᗩᗰ ᕼᗩᖇTY
Sam Harty is a poet of raw truth and quiet rebellion. Author of Lost Love Volumes I & II and The Lost Little Series, her work confronts heartbreak, trauma, and survival with fierce honesty and lyrical depth. Where to find me
I wanted to title this something different, but worried that my chosen title might cause problems entering the United States in the future so this is the new title. It's the greatest title. No one has ever written a title better than this. (All titles unrelated to content).
Let me be honest. I am finding this difficult. Now, I like a challenge, a stretch, a bit of an obstacle course. “Write about the decline of the British Empire in the form of a narrative poem in which your protagonist is an artichoke” I read, and flex my fingers. “Write a haiku to evoke the sensation of sibilance using only the first half of the alphabet.” “Well”, I think to myself, “this should be fun.” But “write about a system that isn’t working”? A system that isn’t working? Now? In 2026? ONE system? My favourite system that isn’t working? The sexiest system that isn’t working? The one giving me the most angst day to day? The one giving me the most existential dread? I am, as I say, finding this difficult. I will own that I have contemplated writing a thousand words on why the steady “all on” setting on my fairy lights is the EIGHTH of seven options which must be sequentially activated to get there, because that is a system that some fool came up with and it definitely doesn’t work, and now who is paying the price, eh? But how can I write about my fairy lights when…. When…. When….
By Hannah Moore7 days ago in Humans
Comments (7)
Oh that is so heart-breaking and real, I can feel the weight of ash. Brought a tear to my eye. So well done.
This is so beautiful. I love how you sustained the Pompeii imagery throughout the entire poem. It’s fiery and eruptive yet also quiet and peaceful, like the historic echoes of the ruins of Pompeii. Well done.
Ohhhh I really like this one, the pacing, the rhythm, the connection on multiple levels
so pure
Ocean, Immortality, Mummy, Sinking, Pompeii and Misery are my favorite poems. I wrote them during some of the worst times of my life. Both of the books have written are all about Lost Love. It's my greatest expertise...
What a visceral, and haunting analogy. I have been to Vesuvius and Pompeii and petrified love is a perfect way to pull this together!
I love the imagery you used in this, Sam.