My intent here was to make a dream-like poem by adapting lines from Wilfred Owen’s “Dulce et Decorum Est”, echoing many sounds, words and ideas in an effort to hypnotize the reader and elucidate the concept that dreams are an echo of reality. I have taken Owen’s original subject and made him a literal drowning victim, so that the echoes might also recall how sounds travel in and over water.
in every dive I’ve seen his sinking face, in every dive
I’ve Lied to him, told him “you’ll survive”
my closed eyes watched him die,
eyes sinking in his face
I too felt near dead, dead, dead
though most alive
the rest of us are helpless, less and less air left for breath
we choke, even as he’s *cough, cough*—
coughing like a hag
again, again we fear his love, even as he drinks his death
we see him blind, we’re all weak
with fatigue
we see him under green sea, under green sea
see him drowning, our ears dea— TWEEE!
to the searing screams above
he plunges at us, guttural guttering, choking, drowning, drowning
he sinks in the green as he swims, swims, swims up
to our love
“Clear!” if you could hear— “ALL CLEAR!”. At every jolt, the gore
and spit, as it spurts forth from frothy lungs
if you too had to kiss, kiss, kiss
your lying lips
if your lips had to kiss the dying ones
your summer ocean dreams
dream
dream
dream
(just a dream)
your summer ocean dreams
would lose the warmth of sun.
Krovina78
May 17, 2022 — 12:30 am
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