The news is grim and so is much of my recent poetry.
Dark Thoughts
At night
dark thoughts
come home to roost
like a murder of crows
ink black,
loudly squawking,
demanding attention,
while feasting
on carrion.
When will the danger pass?
Never.
It’s always been here.
I just hadn’t seen it
so clearly before.
©Molly Hogan, 2020
The Danger of Denial
There are only so many times
you can wrap
something disturbing
and wrong
in coarse rope
tie it to a heavy boulder
and push it
beneath the surface
to keep it submerged.
Eventually,
such things
slip free
of ropes and anchor,
bob up
bloated,
distorted,
and dreadful–
evidence of a crime,
on the brink of exploding
and spewing putrefaction.
©Molly Hogan, 2020
I think these poems are like purgatives (or at least I hope so), an attempt to relieve some of the deep concerns I feel under the onslaught of horrible news. There are still many wonderful things going on in my life, but sometimes I need to focus on the darker stuff.
This week’s Poetry Friday is hosted by Karen Eastlund at her blog, Karen’s Got A Blog.
Nix the comfort zone 
Molly, thanks for your poems. I like the imagery. The host, me, is actually Karen Eastlund, but I am found at Karen’s Got a Blog! Thanks.
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Eek! I’m so sorry for the mix-up and thanks so much for hosting! (I fixed it!)
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Heart breaks, Molly. Have you seen Emmanuel Acho’s videos, ‘Uncomfortable Conversations with a Black Man’? (Here is the first. https://www.facebook.com/themanacho/videos/uncomfortable-conversations-with-a-black-man-pt-1/272134207491609) What a blessing, balm and bridge that man is; articulate, gentle and honest. He gives me hope.
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Thanks, Kat. I will definitely check that link out later. Hope is such a precious commodity.
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Molly, such deep thoughts this week-I wonder what heavy thoughts are burdening you. When we are conflicted or trying to fit in the shoes of others who feel that way, poet indulge in dark thoughts that are raw and allow the reader to ponder. That is what you offered me in the middle of the night when I am frustrated with trying to import my course work for my upcoming Summer Institute for grad school teachers into a platform that I do not know.
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I’m sorry for your tech struggles, Carol. That can be so frustrating! For me, it felt a lot like building the plane while flying it this past spring. My heavy thoughts are a response to the dark spiral of daily news. I’m so thankful I have all sorts of lighter things in my life as well.
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I appreciate both of these poems and the images they conjure. That weighted boulder bobbing to the surface will stick with me. Thank you for sharing these.
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Thanks, Tricia.
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What to do with the dark thoughts, indeed. Acknowledge them, write them into the world, use them as paving stones for the path forward.
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I think you have a poem here…
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(How did you know I jotted that into my notebook for later?!? 😉
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It is a dark time and tough to hear and read and see that which is “slipping free” if I may use your so-true words, Molly. But while hard, I think it’s also a good thing. Thank you for writing these, in my heart, too.
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Thanks, Linda. I so hope that good will emerge from all of this and that we’re just in the painful metamorphic part of it all.
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These are beautiful poems. Danger that’s always been here and only now clearly seen–my thoughts, too. And the last poem with its devastating imagery had to be written. Very nice work, Molly.
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Thanks, Janice. It’s hard to find a balance these days.
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I think poetry is a good place to store those dark thoughts. I love your metaphors in these poems, murder of crows and rope and anchor. Each image reveals a deeper, darker meaning.
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I like the idea of poems as places to “store” dark thoughts. It reminds me of the pensieve in Harry Potter.
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Beautiful poems. They reflect what’s on our minds these days. A lot of it feels like ‘carrion’ which never should have been left to fester for years and ‘boulders’ hidden instead of acknowledged and dealt with. I love Mary Lee’s suggestion to “write it into the world” and make paving stones to move forward.
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Thank you, Joyce. I also love Mary Lee’s suggestion.
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This is how poets lead…name the thoughts, give them a shape and color that can be dealt with. Thanks for these two. The crime of trying to drown the disturbing thing(s) is so visual and so real to me.
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I’m guilty of sometimes pushing down unpleasant things and not dealing with them…working on that!
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Molly – the use of ‘murder of crows’ in Dark Thoughts – those images, feeding on carrion – all perfect. And pushing the heavy, ugly things down in Denial – again, you capture the humanity of it so concisely and even beautifully in in spite of the horrible truth. It is a truth we all live at various moments. Some more than others … I once read a story about a man’s eye that got knocked inward and he died of what he saw in his own mind. So I say, let us see our own dark thoughts and ugly realities for what they are. So that we can cope. That is why we write. So well-done – and there’s healing, even so, here in your lines. ❤
Fran Haley https://litbitsandpieces.com/
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Thanks for such a thoughtful comment, Fran. The story you mentioned sounds both powerful and disturbing. There is ugly to face on the outside and on the inside. Lots of work to do!
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Molly, these are beautiful and deeply horrifying, and I bet they’re resonating with every reader. Thank you.
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Thanks, Laura! I’m hoping that I’ve cleared the way for more of the beautiful/positive by writing these two.
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Thinking of you and your family. No advice, just know that you are not alone. Ready for a trip south through Steadman Woods, across the Wiggly Bridge, along the Fisherman’s Walk to the Atlantic. Coffee and biscuits or muffins on our front deck to follow? All in the fresh air. Email.
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