The Choir Of Longing

by Paul Tristram / March 4th, 2018

She’s top of the class, so to speak.
If they were handing out ‘Gold Stars’
she’d be absolutely covered in them.
Not on the same level as the other girls…
‘Shines’ like something ‘Otherworldly’
when stepping into the zone.
The rest merely become backing singers
when she hits those high notes.
It almost becomes unbearable to listen to,
everyone in the Cathedral winces,
not out of pain… but, from a discomfort
brought on by a euphoric, grating pleasure.
Once, I closed my eyes tight,
and shoved my fingers into my ears…
expecting at any moment
for those beautiful, ancient
stained-glass windows to implode.
There’s something ‘Damaged’
right at the root of her soul…
you can feel as well as hear it.
Lord, I’m shivering just thinking about it.
I’ve seen grown men get up and leave,
wiping tears from their faces…
and proud, strong women
buckle and fall apart right in the pews…
when she bullseyes
the hurtful truth hidden inside us all,
and gives both ‘Hope’ and ‘Despair’
such draining and echoing meaning.

Paul Tristram is a widely published Welsh writer who deals in the Lowlife, Outsider, and Outlaw genres.  He wrote his first poem as a teenager following his release from the (Infamous) Borstal ‘HMP Portland’, and he has been creating Literary Terrorism ever since.  His novel ‘Crazy Like Emotion’ is available to purchase right here . Also his collection of shorter fiction Kicking Back Drunk ‘Round The Candletree Graves' is available to purchase at https://bookgoodies.com/a/B0DFMTSR4F Both books are published by Close To The Bone Publishing. Read other articles by Paul, or visit Paul's website.

This article was posted on Sunday, March 4th, 2018 at 8:04am and is filed under Poetry.