the bitterness wall




I was gathering stones
and each one had a name ....
they were meant for the people
who'd caused me much pain
from childhood and older
I gathered them all
and slowly I built it .... the bitterness wall


for mortar I used
all the lies I'd been told
and teardrops were mixed
so the stones would all hold
from childhood and older
I gathered them all
and slowly I built it ... the bitterness wall


the stones grew so tall
and there wasn't a door
to let me escape
all the years gone before
and the Wall, it surrounded
and smothered my breath
until I saw ashes as tributes to death
of things in the past
now long over ... that's all
and it pens me
and keeps me
this bitterness wall




© ingrid havens-trinka 1993