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“The Violence of Sound” “Seduction” & “ Soundtrack” by Susan Richardson




The Violence of Sound


Parcels of darkness take to the sky,

storm warnings that strip skin from bones,

swallowing the blood of entire generations.


Heavy wings blacken the sun,

relentless beaks spitting smoke,

staining the horizon with doom.


Empty bellies are filled with ash,

lips tattooed with terror.

The violence of sound scars agony into stone.


War slices into the marrow of families,

splinters cities into shards of shadows,

echoes of the dying

left caged

in the ruins of time.



Seduction


I pour the first drink to settle my nerves,

throw it back with determination.


I snatch up the second to take the bite

out of self- loathing,

eager for the solace of denial

flourishing

in the depths of a tequila bottle


I gulp down the third to loosen my tongue,

delight in the way it scalds my throat,

burning up the roots of inhibition.


I indulge in the fourth to feel beautiful,

drown in the seduction that warms my belly

spreading like a potion beneath my skin.


By the fifth, I forget my name.




Soundtrack


The movie business has shut down.

Aspiring starlets and boys with chiselled chins

are holed up in box car apartments,

faces pressed against the glass,

wondering when it will be safe

to breathe again.


The streets of Hollywood,

usually filled with dreamers,

wide eyed and desperate to be seen,

have dropped into death watch quiet.

The sidewalks are patrolled by men

armed with sticks and plastic knives,

losing their minds

under the rolling eye of covid

and an unexpected heatwave.


I walk the dogs,

but never leave my block,

smile at the rare person

passing on the other side of the street,

forget they can’t see beneath my mask.


Across the road, a saxophone player

practices on her rooftop deck,

a soundtrack of smooth and mournful notes

connecting us through the social distance.




Susan Richardson is an award winning, internationally published poet. She is the author of “Things My Mother Left Behind”, from Potter’s Grove Press, and “Tiger Lily” an Ekphrastic Collaboration with artist Jane Cornwell, published by JC Studio Press. She also writes the blog, “Stories from the Edge of Blindness”. You can read more of her work on her website.

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