misty November morning
I light a candle
and make some tea
to keep me company
winter will be without
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read all of my newest poems on my patreon!
December 24th, midnight minus a minute
in the glass train station
all gathered
in their finest clothes
dining off expensive china
at candlelight
*
I walked miles in the snow
following the railway
to meet them
*
all dead
sitting at the table
only the wind sings
a Christmas carol
*
the girl in black velvet
black hair and eyes
white teeth and skin
won’t pass the salt
*
at the corner of my eye
always
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Read this poem and many more on my Patreon! (patreon.com/carminedenis)
On the way home
letting black air
wash off the light
of wasted days
___________________________________
Friendly reminder that you can read all of my other poems on patreon (https://www.patreon.com/carminedenis). You can read a few new poems and/short stories every week, in a pay-what-you-want system. See you there!
Pandora
Can you see what’s in there?
Buttons, pearls, some broken necklace
still glowing faintly, like a year;
a pair of eyes in your face;
– What’s next? You,
stepping into the casket,
up and down the stairs, raising like dew
in the winter cherry basket –
But what’s more? You, my dear;
into the water, come,
into the purple sea.
Oh domestic September…
Oh domestic September,
Tamed month of rot-
-ating light over buildings –
The women are there writing,
On invisible leaves,
As I’m drinking in the middle of the city
At the throat of some older woman
Who spits water – winter and summer
And the women still write, some sigh
The dying day will soon decline –
Domestic September, ready yourselves
To put your head in its tranquil sunlight
Bathing.
***
You can find all of my newest poetry on my Patreon! Only 5€ per month to have access to every poem, story, and poetry pdf I wrote. See you there!
To you, dear readers
(You can find the french version of this post below.)
Some things are changing here. But before I announce them, I’d like to thank you. I see you reading and liking my poetry and it warms my heart each time I get a new WordPress notification! Some of you follow me since I created this blog in the summer of 2014, and it really means a lot. I started writing poetry at 16 and after exploring different kinds of writing, I can finally say I wrote some books that are worth a read.
Your support, even after these two years of silence (2016 – 2018), due to my mental health and personal reasons, has encouraged me to write more and better. So, to all of you, whether you’ve been reading my work since 2014 or occasionally take a look at this blog – to everyone: thank you for your support!
Now, what is changing, you may ask? Well, long story short: I’m 21 and a student, and although I work part-time as a tutor/teacher, my finances are… unstable. I spend a lot of time perfecting my craft and am in need of a little help. I think my work is starting to pay off, and thus would like a little bit of support! This is why I created a Patreon, that allows artists and entrepreneurs to get some financial help. On Patreon, you’ll be able to commission me, submit prompts for poems or short stories, and have access to the pdfs of my completed poetry collections.
I’ll occasionally keep posting on here so to allow non-patrons to read my poetry but the vast majority of my work will be on Patreon. You can find it here!
For 5€ per month, you’ll be able to access all of my new poems (the older ones are free to read), and for 10€ to submit prompts for stories and poems. Commissions are open, please contact me (carmine.g.denis@gmail.com) to discuss each project further!
So, here we are! Thank you for reading this post and I hope we can meet again on Patreon!
Carmine
***
Les choses vont changer, mais permettez-moi avant tout de vous remercier. Je vous vois lire et apprécier mes poèmes et chaque notification WordPress me réchauffe le cœur ! Quelques-uns d’entre vous me suivent depuis la création du blog en juillet 2014, et cela compte beaucoup pour moi. J’ai commencé à écrire de la poésie à seize ans, et, après avoir exploré plusieurs styles et thématiques, je pense que j’ai réussi à écrire quelques livres qui valent la peine d’être lus. Votre soutien, même après les deux années de silence (de 2016 à 2018), dues à des problèmes personnels et à ma santé mentale, m’a poussé.e à poursuivre dans la voie de l’écriture poétique. Donc, à tous, que vous fréquentiez occasionnellement le blog ou soyez un lecteur de la première heure (et tous les cas de figure entre les deux) : merci à vous, merci infiniment.
Alors, quels sont les changements ? Eh bien, globalement : j’ai vingt-et-un ans, je suis étudiant.e, et malgré mon job à mi-temps (professeur particulier de français), mes finances restent quelque peu instables. Je passe beaucoup de temps à travailler mes écrits, nouvelles et poèmes, et un coup de pouce financier ne serait pas de refus ! C’est pourquoi j’ai créé un Patreon, qui est un moyen de financer par abonnement des créateurs qui n’ont pas encore de plateforme assurée. Sur Patreon, vous pourrez accéder à tous mes nouveaux poèmes (ainsi qu’aux anciens, gratuitement), pour 5€ par mois ; pour 10€, proposer des sujets de poèmes et de nouvelles ainsi qu’accéder aux pdfs de mes livres. Vous pouvez aussi me commissionner (prix variables), en me contactant sur l’adresse carmine.g.denis@gmail.com. Vous trouverez mon Patreon ici !
Merci encore de votre vailant soutien et à tout bientôt sur Patreon !
Carmine
Cold water etiquette
« Careful, watch your step! Follow
The etiquette! She’s not known
For her mercy, she won’t pardon
Early mistakes. First,
Tiptoe around, on the wet sand
So smooth it fools your kin
Into weakness. Immerse
Your toe, the big one
From the foot you don’t like. If the nail
Blackens, get out; if it becomes
Crystalline like her, you’ve been chosen
And your swimming will be easy.
Careful, watch your step. Walk slowly, and feel
Her icy hand gripping your neck, all the way up
From your ankles. Your veins
Are blue now. She empties
Your eyeballs. No, don’t bring
Any mirror: she doesn’t like
Rivals. After this you’re on your own;
Swim or float, but
Careful, watch your step! »
Say the drowned; their bleached bones
Move with algae, their missing limbs
Remembering the days
They entered water, carefully
Watching their steps.
I am a body…
I am a body after all
Says the jester to the court
Nobody reads without their hands open
Pressing their palms against the page
Nights are clear. The moon
Says it back. I am a body,
After all.
Stone smells…
Stone smells fill me slowly
And the rain falls
As soft as my love’s voice
In the nearby room
Everything’s growing
In our little town
Water drips from leaves
I breathe, easily
I breathe
Walk on the highway
As a leaf yearns for winter
The car accident bleeds its orange light
And a gas station
Stands against the night
