Kailashana

Jun 06, 2009 ⭐ View statistics (Premium feature)

Would You Love Me Any Less?

Would you love me any less
with only one breast?
would you follow me anywhere?
would you share my holy terror of what death
takes away from gilded dreams, as if
this solemn decay were the healing balm of life itself?
as if we could live outside fractions and segments
following dusty footprints along
corridors of white crosses draped along the sun,

would you walk with me
if I had no teeth left to bare?
as if my milk teeth were left under your
pillow, as if I were your child?
would you cradle me in your arms
if I could only sing out of rhyme?
if I had no songs to sing
and our songs were done
like the faithful columbine
growing ancient
over Gethsemane's olive trees,
would you still love me if there
were only half of me?
as if I had no face to recognize
as your Beloved?
as if I were a phantom number in some
historical archive,
as if I were losing myself in the blood of every war
over whose God is right as if
charity (or chivalry) were dead and no dead can
dance with these disembodied shrouds,

would you offer your hand if my virgin
soul had been raped a thousand and one times?
what would you say if I were yours?

you can not love an image of me,
you can not have any part of me,
you'll have to decline that which is mine

you'll have to run where the truth cannot hide,
we'll have to die alone,

we'll have to die ashamed.

— Kailashana, Jun 06, 2009

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About the Author

Critiques

themoonman

17 years ago

Anna...

It isn't fair of you to get me all teary eyed the first thing in the morning... but I am now... sad... haunting write. I have to have a coffee break and recover!

Kailashana

17 years ago

Ahhh my Moonman…. this

Ahhh my Moonman.... this poem has a great story too... I had been thinking about it, just recently remembering I wrote it (almost 2 years ago). I had no idea where to look, and so forgot about it. In the meantime, while I was at work, my daughter came home with some old email conversations (she found them in her home) I had with a poet/activist from North Carolina on the then yahoogroup poetsforhumanrights. Serendipity. I love when that happens. The good thing is as long as we are alive we have a chance to "begin saving the world".... Much love, Anna p.s. i'll have to write a poem that'll make you have to wipe the coffee off the computer screen next, won't i? "You begin saving the world by saving one person at a time; all else is grandiose romanticism or politics." Charles Bukowski

Taniaspoetry

17 years ago

Love

Unconditional love, so beautifully painted. Its true that we can love unconditionally, only if love already resides in our hearts. To give without expecting anything in return is the most difficult test. And yet there are those who soar with such love Thank you Kailashana for sharing such a vivid, heart-felt poem with us. Cheers Tania

Kailashana

17 years ago

I’d like to post a poem

I'd like to post a poem that on poetry chaikhana...http://www.poetry-chaikhana.com/Forum/viewtopic.php?t=9560 http://www.poetry-chaikhana.com/M/McCombsChris/index.htm Go deeper by Chris McCombs Past thought Into silence Past silence Into stillness Deeper still Past stillness Into the Heart Now Let the Love Consume Whatever is left of you . "You begin saving the world by saving one person at a time; all else is grandiose romanticism or politics." Charles Bukowski

orgami

17 years ago

love the bittersweet ending

the build in introduction histories filled with colour like cool summer air the window open the tears of ghosts echoing in the lights reflection from the grass just sitting here without a cofee yet the window open the wind on my back cool and distant like the odd cry of the gulls drifting your poems have depth and maturity I admire like the deeper rivers to the creeks more to dive into

Kailashana

17 years ago

Thank you for reading O… 5

Thank you for reading O... 5 stars especially after I read your promise to be more ummm. discriminating..... Love to you and yours, Anna "You begin saving the world by saving one person at a time; all else is grandiose romanticism or politics." Charles Bukowski

Seren

17 years ago

Anna ...

Like O~ , I had said to myself that I would be deserning regarding stars , but Anna for once I am going to try and explain why I think this deserves what its going to be given ... You confront head on the sadness we all feel at some stage , if we have the miracle of living to old age , but you also face , no matter how many people are around you ... could be a million ? dying and birth they are lonely expeditions .. they are trips you can only take alone ... you portrayed all of this and so so so much more that I couldn't explain it , if I tried ... I am very tired but I really loved this , in the pain of all its truths , its shining in the sadness of the beauty of truth ... this is poetry ;) much Regard and Love Jayne x x

Kailashana

17 years ago

I never seem to feel I get

I never seem to feel I get these deeply personal poems *quite right*, they never feel *completed*...like a work in progress. Much like me. ;-) Love. ~A "You begin saving the world by saving one person at a time; all else is grandiose romanticism or politics." Charles Bukowski

bjp

17 years ago

Dear Anna,

Jayne-Chloe has said lovingly that your words are poetry. They are. This is a very striking and powerful work. I do hope that you are impressed with yourself. There is a seriousness, a hopefulness, a needfulness, a labouriousness (you have laboured), and a safety (as you are feeling safe but appearing not, or it wouldn't have been written) to this poem which is unusual in statement and startling in description. You are pushing yourself. There is an energy and a reprieve to the world which I have not seen before in your work. I am a thrilled admirer of your bluntness and artistry. Brian

Kailashana

17 years ago

Impressed with myself?

Impressed with myself? Hardly. See above response to Seren. (I love the gorgeous angel avatar btw). Besides you gave me a 4 out of 5, but to paraphrase Meatloaf, 4 out 5 ain't bad. Brian, if you only knew the road I've traveled as an on-line poet. Suffice it to say, I've been thoroughly trounced, and with great vigor. Black and blue, figuratively speaking. It's all ok; I am no thin-skinned emotional-laden poet that can be easily dismissed. Or at least I like to think so. Love. ~A "You begin saving the world by saving one person at a time; all else is grandiose romanticism or politics." Charles Bukowski

bjp

17 years ago

Dear Anna,

I was telling my neighbour that I once told my father that I didn't take compliments well. My father responded, "Get over it." He was telling me to honour the person giving the complement and to honour myself - to have self confidence and give graciousness. His modest reprimand was love based and I decided to change my stance. Your poem is about reaching out from pain, something each person best learn or the suffering will be the greater. I think that is a pretty good topic and that the example is shining. Stars! I received stars in school and that hypnotic attraction will always be with me. It is a symbol and metaphor of acceptance. The problem is everything is more or less topsy-turvy. It is correct that I choose to see a deep seem of talent in your writing which you may see too and be thereby intimidated (it is the human way; always easier to play the underdog). This poem says to me that you can deal with your own self-denial - I'd say it directly states as much (through challenges to the observer: "if you deny me you will be wrong, but I may give up to show you how wrong" - except the courage of the piece contradicts the importance of the observers choice). Notwithstanding all of these complexities, the courage, the humility in the piece, I choose to compliment you by expecting you to outdo this exhibit. I am keeping a star in reserve. Affectionately, Brian

Arrow

17 years ago

I have loved one such,

more than one. Not all so there is room for improvement. And often without words (because there are none) but with dog-like quiet loyalty. This made me cry, too.