Yeah- I alluded to my ‘prompt’ in the intro. I was thinking about how much pressure we are under to give more, to prove ourselves worthy by sacrifice and I was thinking of creatives in particular.
I am so glad to hear your thoughts and interpretation of this piece- it resonated deeply with me but I was not sure that readers would see it making sense. You got it exactly right- love, sacrifice, betrayal- I feel gratified to read your response- thank you so much for taking time to comment.
What a great question! I cannot begin a piece that I don’t feel but I can edit anything during any ‘mood’. Weird maybe. After this piece I perused some of my old unfinished stuff and found myself drawn to my stories of the olden days which are for the most part funny and fun to write. 🥰
Thank you for reading and commenting, Michael. I am definitely affected by the time of year, I’m not sure everyone is but I am sure each person that creates has something in their environment that impacts their process and product greatly. This piece felt especially influenced by the oppressive feeling I get from winter. I am working on something much lighter currently- need to re- establish a balance! 😊 Thanks again! 🥰
This is certainly writing on the dark side, no doubt about that. There's an unsettling tone to this that runs deeper than the more plainly shown imagery on the surface. It begs questions, invites one to wonder why these people have succumbed to this particular gluttony? What has driven the destructive tendency of this particular hunger they feel? What is that tendency, and where does it come from? How did they come to this warped obsession, this desperate need for acceptance that they've been misled into believing is love?
By the way, make sure to restack and tag Joseph L. Weiss when Thursday comes around. He's taken over hosting duties for Thorny Thursday.
Thanks for reading, your comments and the questions. I can try to answer but it is from a perspective that I don’t always embrace…at least I don’t believe it applies to all people. All that comes with the idea of spiritual/emotional vampires applies; this poem is a conceptual account of these vampires feeding on other people’s pain. Why are they so gluttonous- any one’s guess- but they are made that way. The destructiveness only plays out on others they feed on and cannot be readily considered self-destructive to the Vampire- this sort of diet does after all, sustain them. All good questions that can no more be adequately answered than ‘why does a serial killer kill and derive satisfaction from it’. Now as to the last part about love and being misled, I can comment. The Vampire does not love its cattle, but should said cattle possess the human capacity to feel, to love, to be convinced that providing that which the vampire asks for is a noble act of self-sacrifice… should they allow themselves to be led to the slaughter house by way of pouring out their heart and soul in the form of poetry, confessional memoir, the ultimate mind fuck succeeds and the vampire wins. Maybe the most obscure and revealing part of the poem IMO is the comment at the end on bloody carrion…but as you did not ask about that in particular, I will not address 🤣🤣🥰. Again, thanks so much for your interest- truly appreciated! 🫶🏼🙏🏼✨
Tracy, I like how your use allegory in this poem. Thank you for sharing.
We've entered a winter of discontent, which will become more pronounced in the coming months. Those now feeding at the trough of corruption and greed in the insatiable hunger for absolute power may be surprised by the power of discontent.
There is something in the air for sure… it has felt off for some time. We can only hope things will get better. Steinbeck is one of my favorites though East of Eden has stuck with me more than Winter of Our Discontent. Maybe I should revisit some of these classics to help me out of my funk! Enjoy your evening 🥰😊
The Vampire never wins. They live in constant crippling need, and attempt to manipulate others to feel capable, and worthy of love they can not understand. Intelligent, but emotionally crippled. I think what you have written is chilling. I was floored last night when I read it.
I like the idea that the vampire never wins- it is from our non-vampire perspective, a bleak and cruel existence they live. Yet, from the perspective of the vampire we are the fools reduced to living lives full of feelings, fears, yearnings to love and be loved, etc. Maybe, (but I doubt it), the spiritual/emotional vampire is riddled with doubts and drives to simply feed an ego that feels empty and inadequate…this POV would cause us to pity, maybe even wish to help and heal the vampire. Have you read Odd Thomas Series by Koontz? I see them to be much like his bodachs but for Koontz, these things are supernatural, to me in this poem, they are quite human. I would love to talk with you more later on this- heading out to the gym right now. Honestly I totally get your reaction as it was how I felt writing it… some have commented‘beautiful’ and while I love to contribute to the beautiful in this world, I am not sure I see any beauty here…it is deeply ugly IMO. As always, I value your readership and insightful comments. Let’s continue with this thread. 🥰🙏🏼
Well I’m back if you have further thoughts- I hope this piece was not disappointing to you- I look forward to exchanging ideas with you and value your opinion. 😊
This piece was not disappointing, quite the contrary. I don't think I have ever read anyone with your ability.in so few words. I look forward to seeing what you do with your body of work.
Awww thank you Bliss. I don’t always worry about how something I write will be received, but some pieces do make me feel a bit insecure. And I must admit I have favorite readers whose opinions mean much to me. 😊
I read this and craving comes to mind. And all the times I give in to it. And the frustration I have with myself and the back and forth between accepting what is laid out in front of me, and then alternatively, of resisting it.
I remember a Buddhist practitioner once ask the question: When you eat a cookie, and you are satisfied (at least until you crave it again) are you satisfied because you got the cookie you wanted, or is the satisfaction really from the brief release from the craving of it?
I probably missed the whole point, as usual, Tracy, but I thought I would just flow with impressions.
I think you absolutely got the point- a craving, unhealthy need to satisfy readers, in this case, who crave deeper and more painful displays of vulnerability from the writer. What started this was seeing people being encouraged to reveal more, open up more publicly to ‘people who need’ their medicine because they can produce this opportunity for them to heal in the process. Of course, liking horror writing, I created beings that can literally feed on others’ pain… similar to bodachs (Dean Koontz). With a misguided desire to satisfy the craving of these vampire/bodachs, they become like a porn star who must continually reveal, perform , do more and more. There is also this peculiar feeling I sometimes have that a story/poem that goes deep pulls some piece of the writer away that leaves a tiny void…Well, anyway, I appreciate your insight and especially enjoy the opportunity to talk with you and bounce ideas back and forth- your mind is far from ordinary. You are a highly valued reader. 🥰🙏🏼✨
Ah... This is such a good focus, Tracy, this is insightful to me as I recognize that sometimes if I get pretty confessional or deep with a piece, I notice a craving to be a little bit silly and light with the next one. Being patient and careful with what we choose to reveal is vital to our well being. There is a sense of tempo and pacing and trust-building involved
Love is so often used like kindness being a weakness. People take advantage and just act like predators instead of you know...people with souls. I love the poem. You speak a lot of wisdom there. Great post, Tracy.
Yeah- I alluded to my ‘prompt’ in the intro. I was thinking about how much pressure we are under to give more, to prove ourselves worthy by sacrifice and I was thinking of creatives in particular.
I am so glad to hear your thoughts and interpretation of this piece- it resonated deeply with me but I was not sure that readers would see it making sense. You got it exactly right- love, sacrifice, betrayal- I feel gratified to read your response- thank you so much for taking time to comment.
What a great question! I cannot begin a piece that I don’t feel but I can edit anything during any ‘mood’. Weird maybe. After this piece I perused some of my old unfinished stuff and found myself drawn to my stories of the olden days which are for the most part funny and fun to write. 🥰
Thank you for reading and commenting, Michael. I am definitely affected by the time of year, I’m not sure everyone is but I am sure each person that creates has something in their environment that impacts their process and product greatly. This piece felt especially influenced by the oppressive feeling I get from winter. I am working on something much lighter currently- need to re- establish a balance! 😊 Thanks again! 🥰
Hello Edward.
Dang! 🤣 Thank you for subscribing.
wow this was beautiful!
Wow back at you! Thank you for taking time to read and comment- it means much to me.
This is certainly writing on the dark side, no doubt about that. There's an unsettling tone to this that runs deeper than the more plainly shown imagery on the surface. It begs questions, invites one to wonder why these people have succumbed to this particular gluttony? What has driven the destructive tendency of this particular hunger they feel? What is that tendency, and where does it come from? How did they come to this warped obsession, this desperate need for acceptance that they've been misled into believing is love?
By the way, make sure to restack and tag Joseph L. Weiss when Thursday comes around. He's taken over hosting duties for Thorny Thursday.
Thanks for reading, your comments and the questions. I can try to answer but it is from a perspective that I don’t always embrace…at least I don’t believe it applies to all people. All that comes with the idea of spiritual/emotional vampires applies; this poem is a conceptual account of these vampires feeding on other people’s pain. Why are they so gluttonous- any one’s guess- but they are made that way. The destructiveness only plays out on others they feed on and cannot be readily considered self-destructive to the Vampire- this sort of diet does after all, sustain them. All good questions that can no more be adequately answered than ‘why does a serial killer kill and derive satisfaction from it’. Now as to the last part about love and being misled, I can comment. The Vampire does not love its cattle, but should said cattle possess the human capacity to feel, to love, to be convinced that providing that which the vampire asks for is a noble act of self-sacrifice… should they allow themselves to be led to the slaughter house by way of pouring out their heart and soul in the form of poetry, confessional memoir, the ultimate mind fuck succeeds and the vampire wins. Maybe the most obscure and revealing part of the poem IMO is the comment at the end on bloody carrion…but as you did not ask about that in particular, I will not address 🤣🤣🥰. Again, thanks so much for your interest- truly appreciated! 🫶🏼🙏🏼✨
Tracy, I like how your use allegory in this poem. Thank you for sharing.
We've entered a winter of discontent, which will become more pronounced in the coming months. Those now feeding at the trough of corruption and greed in the insatiable hunger for absolute power may be surprised by the power of discontent.
There is something in the air for sure… it has felt off for some time. We can only hope things will get better. Steinbeck is one of my favorites though East of Eden has stuck with me more than Winter of Our Discontent. Maybe I should revisit some of these classics to help me out of my funk! Enjoy your evening 🥰😊
Well, certainly macabre.
Indeed 😬
Dark but beautiful 😍
Thanks for reading, Arathy!
wow
😬🤔
The Vampire never wins. They live in constant crippling need, and attempt to manipulate others to feel capable, and worthy of love they can not understand. Intelligent, but emotionally crippled. I think what you have written is chilling. I was floored last night when I read it.
I like the idea that the vampire never wins- it is from our non-vampire perspective, a bleak and cruel existence they live. Yet, from the perspective of the vampire we are the fools reduced to living lives full of feelings, fears, yearnings to love and be loved, etc. Maybe, (but I doubt it), the spiritual/emotional vampire is riddled with doubts and drives to simply feed an ego that feels empty and inadequate…this POV would cause us to pity, maybe even wish to help and heal the vampire. Have you read Odd Thomas Series by Koontz? I see them to be much like his bodachs but for Koontz, these things are supernatural, to me in this poem, they are quite human. I would love to talk with you more later on this- heading out to the gym right now. Honestly I totally get your reaction as it was how I felt writing it… some have commented‘beautiful’ and while I love to contribute to the beautiful in this world, I am not sure I see any beauty here…it is deeply ugly IMO. As always, I value your readership and insightful comments. Let’s continue with this thread. 🥰🙏🏼
Well I’m back if you have further thoughts- I hope this piece was not disappointing to you- I look forward to exchanging ideas with you and value your opinion. 😊
This piece was not disappointing, quite the contrary. I don't think I have ever read anyone with your ability.in so few words. I look forward to seeing what you do with your body of work.
I’m really glad- I felt like you reacted much like I did to the concept but I feared it was ‘too much’. Thank you, Bliss 🥰
Awww thank you Bliss. I don’t always worry about how something I write will be received, but some pieces do make me feel a bit insecure. And I must admit I have favorite readers whose opinions mean much to me. 😊
🤪
I read this and craving comes to mind. And all the times I give in to it. And the frustration I have with myself and the back and forth between accepting what is laid out in front of me, and then alternatively, of resisting it.
I remember a Buddhist practitioner once ask the question: When you eat a cookie, and you are satisfied (at least until you crave it again) are you satisfied because you got the cookie you wanted, or is the satisfaction really from the brief release from the craving of it?
I probably missed the whole point, as usual, Tracy, but I thought I would just flow with impressions.
I think you absolutely got the point- a craving, unhealthy need to satisfy readers, in this case, who crave deeper and more painful displays of vulnerability from the writer. What started this was seeing people being encouraged to reveal more, open up more publicly to ‘people who need’ their medicine because they can produce this opportunity for them to heal in the process. Of course, liking horror writing, I created beings that can literally feed on others’ pain… similar to bodachs (Dean Koontz). With a misguided desire to satisfy the craving of these vampire/bodachs, they become like a porn star who must continually reveal, perform , do more and more. There is also this peculiar feeling I sometimes have that a story/poem that goes deep pulls some piece of the writer away that leaves a tiny void…Well, anyway, I appreciate your insight and especially enjoy the opportunity to talk with you and bounce ideas back and forth- your mind is far from ordinary. You are a highly valued reader. 🥰🙏🏼✨
Ah... This is such a good focus, Tracy, this is insightful to me as I recognize that sometimes if I get pretty confessional or deep with a piece, I notice a craving to be a little bit silly and light with the next one. Being patient and careful with what we choose to reveal is vital to our well being. There is a sense of tempo and pacing and trust-building involved
Yes!!! 🥰🥰🙏🏼
I like how it builds from a small, almost innocuous act to something much darker and more visceral by the end—it’s unsettling in the best way
Thanks so much Bing! I’m glad it felt unsettling- it unsettled me to write it and I nearly didn’t post it.
Consider the price of what is freely given in a world driven by appetite and approval.
Love it Tracy! 🖤
It just made me hungry. Stick a fork in their ass, turn them over, they're done.
A novel response Mr.Angel! 🤣🤣
Always
Love is so often used like kindness being a weakness. People take advantage and just act like predators instead of you know...people with souls. I love the poem. You speak a lot of wisdom there. Great post, Tracy.
Glad you liked it - I too find myself wondering if perhaps everyone is privy to having a soul sometimes. Thanks also for taking time to comment. 😊