Lumpen Nightmare

Mask of clay,
damp, lumpen and grey,
fills mouth, eyes, ears
and wrinkles
as it seeps into skin.

Thrown on a nightmare wheel,
it permits the dusty bogeyman
to poke holes in dreams,
fill them with ceramic screams.

Hands wet
with pulling
and squeezing sweat,
you mould the lump of clay
into your own face.

Kim M. Russell, 2016

My response to Imaginary Garden with Real Toads Flash 55 PLUS!

Kerry is the host for the Flash 55 Challenge, in which she asks us to write a piece of poetry or prose on a subject of our choice in precisely 55 WORDS.
For the OPTIONAL EXTRA part of this challenge, she has invited us to watch a short clip from the movie, Samsara, conceived and directed by Ron Fricke. This clip features performance artist, Olivier de Sagazan. Saṃsāra is a Sanskrit word that means “wandering” or “world”, with the connotation of cyclic, circuitous change.

23 thoughts on “Lumpen Nightmare”

  4. There is something terrifying and powerful in the idea of making oneself into a nightmare bogeyman. What is the protagonist’s role in submitting to the horror they have become?

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. Did you watch the video? I thought it was refreshingly horrific – nothing seems to scare me these days, except real life stuff and the news, and this got some way to doing just that. 🙂

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