bingo Robert, signed sealed and delivered, platinum gold silvered

Jude, This is so powerful and very true!! The reality is we have only a few friends that will have our back. Most people pretend to be nice to your face then stab you many times! The only conviction we can trust is the guarantee of living in the unseen. Very good. Peace be with you always! ~Chessly

Indeed, how much we see in the unseen, not by visual sight.
LOL, I need say no more. Thanks Kate.

Sure glad I can't see that. Unfortunately, your vivid description has forced me to. ;-)

Out of sight, out of mind?

Ron

Jude - Enjoyed the physicality of this, the imagery that you use to express the parallel universe of your mind. These lines are especially vivid:

speaking in dribble,
swollen tongues sounding like snails

stroking your back
with fingers of broken glass,
voices of fire
sing in dysfunctional harmony

- David

Nothing "prosaic" about y o u or your ever fresh and fascinating
work!!

This is but another piece that proves.

Love the new pic of you, by the by. Looks like a lake in the
background. Near where you live? 'So, 'tis fitting. Water is
so elemental.

Blessings. . .always, and then. . .

'Pea'

you can really wring hearts Jude! Such profound thoughts,hope all is well with you and yours! Good to know you still have the overcoming powers;-)

oh my, how desolate Jude. Like a punch in the heart. It's good to know we can rise above our enemies and even live without our friends if forced to.

Awesome write Jude, high time I came by!!
Ty Ch'erie

We are plagued by enemies wallowing in their very own self-destruction right this minute. The conspiracy to eliminate competition, the strong ones, the leaders, will always be, but guess what, spiritual messengers of the cosmos through the mystic divine intervention intercept the infiltrating dirt particles whirring decadence and wreckless carnage in the menacing wind...one has few friends in this plane of life, but many otherworldly, the ones who really count because we've fought this same battle with our trusty allies in previous centuries many times...you and me rode on the same horse switching back and front positions, sometimes it was you at the reins, sometimes me...no memory loss here...unseen the same as incognito, they didn't see us coming then, they don't see us coming now...some days, poets, some days, cosmic warriors...good to be in your friendly company, Jude...

s

a deep and thought provoking poem, what is reality?

Powerful; it grows from a personal experience to global influence. The ending is perfect, electric, and the images are violently present with a lot of ammo.

The thematic tension in these particular lines is awesome -
you look to the dawn
to the far-off thunder
where the menacing winds
soothe your spine

--Debs

Jude, sometimes we find that our best intentions can be tainted by selfish whims. Trust is a very sacred thing to me anyway..I do not give that away lightly..I just wrote a poem as a sort of response to this poem. I am always touched by your work, you make me dig deeply, and I always come out feeling better after reading your poetry.
One day, there will be no need for anyone to ever harm or hurt another..That will be the time of peace and harmony which exists in another realm of life...You are such a person that will be able to live this type of life, Trust in the Universe, Jude...It will guide you to exactly where you need to be.

In peace, trust, light and love,
Amber

A fantastic write Jude.

Newfie Hugs, Rose

This certainly strikes a chord with me as it seems a bit of an anthem of "the orphan heart"; those of us who have necessarily learned self-reliance and self-determination/self-governance at an early age are often those whose desire for solitude is paramount, no matter how temperamentally gregarious we may seem. And with that personal profile often comes a tendancy towards paranoia and acute self-awareness that turns all responses inwards. My own experience tells me that these are often also the Dreamers who have inhabited an unseen parallel universe for as long as they can remember - certainly since early childhood.

This write has all the drama and colour of an opera libretto. It reads like a lamb left to the closing-in of wolves: "swollen tongues sounding like snails" is so surreal and yet conjures a crystal image that is immediately relate-able, as do the "fingers of broken glass".

I love the confident assertion in the ending, though, the testimony being in the soothing of that lacerated back and spine which is the "guarantee" that the world of the unseen is indeed worthy of our complete trust. And, moment by moment, is becoming more real.

Instinctual writing here. I can feel my ears turning into those curly shells and becoming muffled in order to drown out the sounds of those drivel-speaking swollen tongues. Accept your reality... accept you're dreaming... Accept you're living in the unseen. And we do. Good work, Kartero. Karapace Kate xx

If I understand the concept of your poem well, and I think I do, then I was thinking much the same after feeling terribly betrayed by a friend. (Yet, were they really my friend if they betrayed me?)

I think some of us are gentle human beings by nature and we put our inner selves on the line when we're communicating with someone we know. We expose the inner character of ourselves - thus, leaving ourselves vulnerable to others. We do this because we are trusting, but the opposite of trusting is being guarded.

I can't go through life being guarded, because that's not who I am. so, I'll just have to be my vulnerable self, trust others until they give me a reason not to, then put them out of my life or be on guard every time I'm around them.

Wish that life was simpler.

Very stark and troublesome as the shadows seem to conceal so much...who is friend, who is foe...deep
fee

interesting and thought provoking!

ME, ME, as Jon said, reeks throughout this well constructed environs, as is the plastic cube we are prisoners in, now most of us. As always Jude, you reach deep. Blessings! Jasmin Horst

Jude, trust is a highly prized classification we bestow upon someone not without due diligence. Lest we face the very distasteful bite of rancor. Isolation offers not the opportunity to have at hand possible candidates to whom which one might potentially bestow their trust. There exist today an unfortunate class of individuals upon whom I have attached a psychological personality trait. I call them the plastic people. Because of the stigma normally associated with plastic, ed est, cheap and lacking durability. So these plastic people have but one concern in life. ME ME ME ME ME. I believe the conditions and personalities you have described fit my stereotypical plastic people. Great rendering I enjoyed reading it. Thanks for sharing. My joy, love and peace be with you my friend. Jon Michael

It seems that I have read a few poems, within the last day, that speak of the protection of solitude. It is as though all trust has been shattered and picking up the pieces to try and recreate it would be a lesson in futility. To me, your poem lacks cohesiveness in a way that makes clear the intended message. Good job, Jude.
Take care,
Sherry

Powerful writing, Jude...especially your last lines!

as always, your work is powerful

Ah for the simpler days when you could trust someone to be honest with you. But I guess you would have to escape to a dream world to find that.

The writing, as ever, is top drawer, Jude, but the thoughts here have a sandpaper texture, a chafing grit.
Fine work.

John

So many great images. I love the "tongues sounding like snails."

the closing is spot on!

this is excellent writing Jude.

...and living in the unseen is best for those of us who are invisible...e