Blog of the Week ~ Conscious Cacophony

I love the name of this blog, don't you, kids? Being aware of, and interpreting, the cacophony within is a trek we all make, from time to time. C.C., the poet who writes at Conscious Cacophony, says that at mid-life, she is trying "to find a melody" in the midst of the clamor of the shifting of her mental cogs and wheels. I think you will agree that she does so most ably.  

Sherry: C.C., tell us a little about yourself. Where on the planet do you live? And when did you begin writing poetry?

C.C.: I live in the Northwest, so consider myself very fortunate to live where I can see the mountains every single day. 

I began writing poetry when I was around 10 years old. It resonated for me as a means of creative expression because I find release through the written word and I appreciate the brevity of expression that poetry affords in comparison to short stories. 

Another reason it appeals to me is because, although I am typically very direct in my interpersonal communication, I am drawn to the ambiguous or varied interpretations of poetry, the ways in which I can write something that I think is so clear but a reader can have an entirely different take on it for some personally relevant reason. It is a beautiful thing how we bring ourselves and our life experiences into not only the writing of poetry, but also the reading and interpretation of it.

Sherry: That is very true. Good point.

C.C.: Malignant Muse is written as a nonet, which has quickly become one of my favorite forms of poetry, and it describes WHY I write....because of the healing power that writing holds for me in my life).

Malignant Muse

Grief metastasizes in my gut

Anger’s raging tumor hardens

No surgeon’s scalpel can cut

Pain rooted this deeply

Written words extract

Malignancy

It’s a fact

Pen does

Heal.

Sherry: It is very true. "Pen does heal." 

C.C.: Fragments of Heaven is an example of the inspiration I draw from the rich exposure blogging provides, to creative prompts and amazing poetry links and bloggers that inspire me to immerse myself in reading a wide range of different things.

Sherry: It is a rich treasure trove, isn't it? Fragments of Heaven is one of my favorite of yours, C.C.

Fragments of Heaven

You are a cosmic path

In the night sky

And a finding of stars

In sleepless constellations

Sewn into the fabric of space

Between your galaxy and mine

Fragments of heaven

Igniting my universe

With milky way awe

A curve of secret orbit

Drawing me closer

Through space and time

Our dusty kindred souls

Gravitating

Towards each other

Stellar particles

Mesmerized in a celestial dance

As the light refracted

From our stars

Glimmers across the cosmos.

Sherry: This poem is so beautiful. I saw, on your blog,  that you took the italicized words from poet Salvatore Quasimoto's Grant Me My Day, as your jumping off point. Cool. 

C.C.: The next poem is probably the most vulnerable piece of poetry I've ever published on my blog, and my emotional connection to it is huge. I posted it one year ago  as an idealized version of a fantasy lover. But, in the last year, I have found this intensely fierce and passionate man willing to risk the 'shards,' and my heart is perforated with him in ways I never could have written.

Open Letter to My Future Lover

If you, Lover, are willing to risk

wish to have pieces of me

embedded in you

shards of you

pierced into me

you and me

perforations upon each other’s hearts

tied together in impenetrable intimacy

then know this:

my heart

cannot float in the shallow waters

wading effortlessly

splashing nonchalantly;

it requires surging waves

undulating potency

drown me in your ferocious depths.

my mind

refuses to loiter in the discomfort of ambiguity

placidly accepting surface explanations

embracing uncertainty;

it demands difficult answers

inconvenient as they may be

brutalize me with your truth.

my body

cannot tolerate apathetic affection

begrudgingly offered

sparingly bestowed;

it desires fervent carnality

tangible thirst

slay me with your lust.

my soul

recoils from bland mediocrity

insipid monotones

blurring life’s landscapes;

it craves vibrant colors

haphazardly painted outside the lines

stain me wildly with your tint.

my love

impossible to extinguish

blazing recklessly

burning ferociously;

it erupts scorching heat

firelight dancing from within

scald me with your love.

If you, Lover, are still willing to risk

wish to have pieces of me

embedded in you

shards of you

pierced into me

you and me

perforations upon each other’s hearts

tied together in impenetrable intimacy

then know this:

Together, we will ignite the night sky.

Sherry: Wow, C.C.! You wrote, and he came. And from reading this poem, I can tell he is brave, and there must certainly be ignition! 

C.C.: Kiss Your Words is another example of how I love to experiment with new forms. I enjoy blogs like Mind Love Misery's Menagerie that provide all kinds of opportunities for playing around with new stuff.

KISS YOUR WORDS

lover of my soul

kiss your words into my heart

so you will pulse through my veins

*********

let us wrap our souls

with pages from our story

bound in love as one

Sherry: Sigh. I so enjoy a good love story. Thank you, C.C., for your participation at Poets United, and for allowing us to feature your work. 

Do check out C.C.'s site, my friends, as there is just so much to explore. And come back and see who we talk to next. Who knows? It might be you!