A nagging doubt
As my footsteps dulcet echo across the darkened dismal cobbles of a dreary street
Dutiful.
A whisper of solace
As our lives we share, and you weep and ache with despair
Comforter.
A cacophony of cheeriness
As we stride with gusto into growing uncertainty
Supporter.
A melancholy melody of metamorphosis
As I struggle to flutter and fly, reaching for the stars in the sky and knowing that I
wore the mask of the chameleon.
A rich and colourful cadenza of congeniality
As I reminisce and retreat
Into my own colourless void.
© Alison Jean Hankinson
This if for poetics at d’Verse.
The image was labelled for reuse and was in the public domain- wikimedia-
By Nic McPhee from Morris, MN, USA (Corn and sunflower (butterfly is optional)) [CC BY-SA 2.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)%5D, via Wikimedia Commons
Share this:
Applause for the twist of this – not ‘who?’ but ‘what?’
LikeLiked by 2 people
Love this.. and also feel it’s like you drain your colors for others.. too common that we use our masks for that.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Gosh that’s deep….but you might have a little bit of truth….
LikeLike
I love the shape of this poem, Alison, which reflects the tentative feel of it. I like the alliteration on ‘d’ that echoes like footsteps through the first stanza, the whispering sound and the ‘cacophony of cheeriness’.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I liked this line: “A melancholy melody of metamorphosis”. I hadn’t thought of metamorphosis being melancholic before.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Ugh, that ending is the worst. (The feeling, not the words.) You’re too colorful for that kind of close. I don’t believe this is you.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Much love to you. XXX
LikeLike
This begs to be read over and over so as not to miss a line! BRAVO
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yes, that is who we are, changing our colours to meet the needs of others.
And retreating into that colourless world oft brings solace…
Anna :o]
LikeLiked by 1 person
I especially love this line…”As my footsteps dulcet echo across the darkened dismal cobbles of a dreary street”
LikeLiked by 1 person
This is so deep and thought provoking. We all wear the masks in our lives.
LikeLiked by 1 person
LOVE the butterfly image you’ve chosen to illustrate your words….the title goes so very well here also. Perhaps we are a chameleon….a butterfly….and then sometimes, a dull moth?
LikeLiked by 1 person
I agree that your form enhances the message, but also that you have a multicolor aura, and that a “colorless void” was for your narrater only. This prompt has stimulated depth & introspection by all; so cool.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Many thanks Glenn. XXX
LikeLike
I taste the flavour of self-sacrifice. Good one, Alison!
LikeLiked by 1 person