Death of the Writer
There’s no meaning hidden behind the metaphors:
peel one line after another, and you will find
the sea is still the sea, the flood still the flood.
The border gates you thought were waiting,
you’ve crossed them when you were a child.
There’s no meaning hidden behind the metaphors.
Being paid under the table, having your paycheck
withheld, beef once a month, the hands upon you—
the sea is still the sea, the flood still the flood.
And the water rose. And the water rises. You
knew all this was waiting from the moment you left.
There’s no meaning hidden behind the metaphors:
You can change the pattern of your footsteps, the length
of your hair, your rate of speech—there's no better life.
The sea is still the sea, the flood still the flood.
Your truth has been calling your name at home:
there’s no one to save you.
There’s no meaning hidden behind the metaphors—
the sea is still the sea, the flood still the flood.
Audio: Jeddie Sophronius reads “Death of the Writer”
Jeddie Sophronius is the author of the poetry collections Happy Poems & Other Lies (Codhill Press, 2024), Interrogation Records (Gaudy Boy, 2024), Love & Sambal (The Word Works, 2024), and the chapbook Blood·Letting (Quarterly West, 2023).
Website | Instagram
I love it Jeddie.