This poem came out of the September 2013 crowdfunding Creative Jam. It was inspired by a sculpture from Choi Xoo Ang. It has been sponsored by kengr. This poem belongs to the series Diminished Expectations.

Warning: This poem contains some intense material. Highlight to read the warnings. It features artistic nudes and extreme sadness. Also the series in general is dystopic. If these are sensitive issues for you, please consider your tastes and headspace before reading onward.


"The Lamentation of the Women"


The first stands upright,
rigid against the grief,
one hand raised and
knuckling tears from her eye.
She wears nothing but pink panties
printed with paler hearts,
all she has left in the world.

The second sits
with her knees pressed together,
toes clenched, wringing her hands
in her lap. Her shoulders roll forward
around her pendant breasts,
a futile attempt to shield her softness.
She wears nothing.

Their sorrow is a thing
that wells up in them
like a tide rising and breaking
and then falling away again,
relentless as the ocean
battering mountains to sand.
It wears at them.

* * *

Notes:

See the woman rubbing her eyes and the woman clenching her toes.

Sadness is one of the seven basic emotions. Understand how to cope with sorrow yourself and how to help a sad friend.

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