(Today we conclude what we hope is our first run of work by Robert Beveridge–The Eds.)
“A Woman Weeping in a Torn Chemise…”
(–Pierre Reverdy, “Heartbreak”)
The shadow lurks
in the corner
as I raise my head
to drain another drink
I try to avoid looking
it prowls, waits
for me to rise
only its feet are visible
in this forest of emotions
there is something rather charming
about its blackness
I wouldn’t see it
but a few shards of peach silk
are stuck to its claws
and the woman
sitting at the other end of the bar
tears spilling into her whiskey
there are needle-marks on her arms
it’s too bad
she could have been attractive
if she weren’t so pale
so thin
her ripped garment
exposes nothing really
the shadow shifts
in its corner again
in my examination of the girl I’ve forgotten it
it seems to have gotten a bit colder in here
I shiver
as peach shards come closer
Robert Beveridge
Saragun Springs 
“Peach shards” is an unforgettable image. There’s a reason, many reasons, for dimmed lights. Could be why outer space is dark.
Thank you for the great poetry this week–we hope to see more!
Leila
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Robert
The lost, the pale, the torn, the ones with dark circles under their haunted eyes, the destitute, the degraded, the depressed, the downgraded, the disinherited, the disenchanted, the insulted and injured, are beautiful.
The so-called “Beautiful People” who throng the red carpets in their silly and ridiculous costumes are not beautiful, and are far from it (with very, very few exceptions).
This is a beautiful poem! Leila and I look forward to presenting more of your work to our cutting-edge Readers in the future. Feel free to send away whenever you’re ready!
Dale
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In this forest of emotions such creatures do live. Done in, depressed, absolutely human. Though in no way derivative, this poem put me in mind of Auden’s The Age of Anxiety – & also Bukowski’s short poem ‘Dostoevsky’. Would be good to read more by Mr Beveridge. Those “shards of peach silk” do linger.
Geraint
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The shadow can be a few things, none good, and it’s coming for the narrator next. Chilling and very good.
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