Poetry Review Special Feature: "Bare the Body and Hide the Soul" by K. S. Dearsley

Songs of Eretz Poetry Review is pleased to present "Bare the Body and Hide the Soul," a previously unpublished poem by K. S. Dearsley.  Ms. Dearsley is Writer in Residence at The Grid artists' studios in Warwickshire, England.  Her stories, flash fiction, and poetry have appeared in serials on both sides of the Atlantic, including StoneStone, Binnacle Ultra-shorts, and SlingInk. 

Bare the Body and Hide the Soul

by K. S. Dearsley

I’m quiet, so you think that I don’t care.

Can’t you hear my anger shouting?

Irritation heats each waking hour

That you don’t hear or see

Not only me

But what’s happening out there.

That I can’t click my fingers or whistle,

Look cool in a miniskirt

Or dance like I mean it?

How can you think that I’m not here

When I’m walled in by discontent?

Poet's Notes:  This poem was inspired by life models. Artists often ask them what they think about when they pose. No matter how long they stare, they cannot see their inner life. An artist might capture the model's lines and tones, but the person remains a problem to be solved. Maybe they are not as calm as they look.

Editor's Note:  I like the jagged rhythm and occasional rhymes.  The theme is hardly new, but Ms. Dearsley puts a fresh voice to it--cutting, not whining or wingeing.  She manages to address the reader directly while avoiding being "in-your-face."