Seven Words in Eight Movements – A Poem by Rowe Williams

I. A Washing of Hands

 Disown. 
No one owns me. 
I could not sell myself 
if I tried. 

I belong to me, 
an inheritance 
thrust upon me. 

Gaea looks at a parasite. 
She is my life. 
Thrust upon her. 
She burns 

crimson. Is it fury 
or passion? 
She must be cured. 

     Purified.

I am disowned. 

II. Beggar

 Wrath. 
There is a Book 
that says I am deserving of it 
by nature. 

But none has been unleashed 
upon me. 

     Do you love me? 

     Can I have your wrath? 

I'm so tired.
Please. 

III. Regret

 Bliss. 
I curse that which curses me. 
Philosophers, ethicists, torturers alike 
wonder. 

     I wonder.

A temporary gift is a sign 
of enmity or business. 

     So which is it?  

IV. Circles

 Journey. 
I am traveling. 
Or perhaps hurtling. 

     Earth, terra firma.

Never in the same place twice. 
But never anywhere else, either. 
I journey. 

     But am I going anywhere? 

V. Brave Sir Robin

 Flee. 
One half of our options 
when pressed. 

     Did I have a choice?

There are points on a subway's route 
where you can get off. 
They are called "stops". 
But which stop is mine? 

Maybe I'll catch it on the next loop.  

VI. One

 Valentine. 
No one owns me. 
Only I will be mine. 

Chemical bonds are defined 
based on the behavior of valence electrons.

     When shared, the bond is covalent.

Valence electrons are the outer edge.
The brink.

     Out of many, one.

Some atoms have complete valences on their own.

     Out of one, one.  

VII. For Now/Forever

 Melancholy. 
A state of mind, or 
a way of life. 

A perspective, really, 
moreso than a feeling.

     Did I have a choice?

The sky is a lovely grey today. 

VIII. Coda

 Disown. Wrath. Bliss. Journey. Flee. Valentine. Melancholy.

I am disowned by one who loves me. 
One who forgets. 
I am filled with either wrath 
or a desire for wrath. 
     Do unto others...
I am enraptured by bliss,
then abandoned. 
I am journeying, 
but all journeys end.
     Never trust stagnant water.
I am overcome by the urge to flee, 
to find somewhere that is away. 
I am invited to be a valentine 
and ice fear permeates my heart. 
     Eight valence electrons.
I am deceived by melancholy.
Do you sell glasses the opposite of rose-tint?
I am ignorant, ungrateful, malcontent;
given much, wanting more.
     If you give a mouse a cookie...