By
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Silent, I slip among you – The Invisible Woman. I eat your food, I laugh at your jokes, I nod and smile at words brittle as bones and nourishing as chalk. Skinless, I leak and stain but your eyes perceive it not. You see sunsets and flowers and babies and happy endings and paint over…
Silent,
I slip among you –
The Invisible Woman.
I eat your food,
I laugh at your jokes,
I nod and smile at words
brittle as bones and nourishing as chalk.
Skinless,
I leak and stain
but your eyes perceive it not.
You see sunsets and flowers
and babies and happy endings
and paint over cracks with
an invisible brush.
I am from an ‘other’ world.
Silent,
I slip among you –
The Invisible Woman.
what a beautiful poem, melody! these words, borne of pain, are also good words to heal by. lovely sculptures, too.
Thanks Kris! I really appreciate your kind words and support. I was blown away by these sculptures – very insightful images and ideas there.
Wow — how beautiful! I love the line ‘nourishing as chalk.’ Excellent poem!
Thanks Janene! I take that as a high compliment from a witty woman such as yourself…really.
Melody, what a poignant poem. You have such wonderful powers of expression. I can see writing serves as a great catharsis for you, a way to get the toxins out.
I started my childhood with a desire to write a book. That dream has been lost and dormant until now – and I find myself thinking word strings all the time..they tumble out! You’re right – it is indeed very cathartic. A lifetime in waiting!
What a wonderful poem that speaks to us all of healing and hope. There will always be those who don’t “see” us, and it’s difficult not to mirror that rejection back to them. In spiritual terms it’s more difficult to find causing this so most of us just ignore those who ignore us. But reciprocating is just a sophisticated way to avoid looking for a cause for people ignoring or not acknowledging your presence.
I have never felt invisible but I have been shunned when I was a child. I think the silent treatment is the worst form of emotional abuse perpetrated by those who desperately want to control others, because the abuser knows you exist and knows being ignored hurts. There are no scars to be seen yet the wounds are deep. We don’t have to volunteer to be victimized but neither do we have to play the game by ignoring those who ignore us.
I see you understand this topic very well. It was of invisible wounds I wrote – and in the writing, they can be released… and the power does indeed go both ways. What power we hold when we hold or withhold life-giving words!
Beautiful lines, so expressive. It describes so well, the feelings of not being heard and seen.
Thank you! I’m glad that others are able to grasp its meaning so well. That is a delight to a writer’s heart indeed!
You must be the Wonder Woman 🙂 You amaze me everyday with your creativity and writing talent. The poem is very special and beautiful, even for me that I’m not an English native.
The sculpture is very expressive too.
Thank you, my dear. You daily encouragement is food for my wilted spirit! Yes – I love the sculpture. I found that it spoke to me very deeply.
vivid imagination and expressive!
Thank you, my friend. Don’t you love the sculpture? It is so evocative and speaks so loudly in its silence.
I love this post. I have spent a majority of my life being invisible. I think it’s because I don’t have a major presence around people, I listen and don’t force myself or opinion on others, I seem to attract those that don’t know when to shut it, the ones that are like verbal diarrhea, I tolerate a lot UNTIL I’ve had enough then I speak out……things change instantly. Great post.
Thanks! I know the kind of tolerance of which you speak – and have decided that it isn’t being ‘nice’ to sit back and take crap. It’s nicer, especially to myself, to give myself a voice!
“I slip among you -The Invisible Woman”.
I can ‘see’ her in my mind’s eye thanks to your words. Thought provoking verse.
Thank you so much – that is high praise indeed!
What a powerful poem!! And I very much like the pictures you chose for it. It is all so heartbreaking, in a way that draws you in…
Wow – thanks!
I knew you’d written this from experience because only one who has experienced such would be able to write to the depth needed to get the knowledge across. This is a valuable education for all of us. Sometimes we don’t even realise we are doing the same thing ourself.
Wonderful poem and gorgeous images.
Thanks so much, Elizabeth! Sometimes I get so stuck in the ‘I wish I had learned this sooner’ or the ‘I wish I had learned this the first time around’ that I forget to appreciate the learning that has already come. Your comment gives me hope to dream that my hardest experiences can be my biggest future blessing to the world!
Reblogged this on Meanwhile, Melody Muses… and commented:
A year ago, this poem struck a chord with my readers. What are your thoughts today?
I have no words worthy to describe what that poem does in my heart. Your words, Mel, are a gift.
Aw, thank you, friend. I’m so glad that I am not invisible to the One who sees all – and loves with an unquenchable love! There are so many ways life tries to make us feel this invisibility – the journey toward healing fights the message, and brings hope in its place!
Melody, your poem is deeply touching to the very marrow – for me it reminds me of how invisible I felt during my years of infertility. When one grieves over the invisible there are no flowers… just tears.
Blessings ~ Wendy
Ah, there are so many invisible hurts! If you have a cast, or stitches, there is something to offer the world that shows you need to grieve – but in so many cases, the hurt is hidden, and carried alone. I’m so glad your story has a happy ending, Wendy! What a blessing that your tears have been turned into joy at last!
So powerful, Melody…wrenching imagery that touches the truth… I’m so glad you reposted it, along with the sculpture. My day is richer because you did.
Wow. Thanks so much for letting me know, Pam – I appreciate that!
I like it, Melody. Powerful. Haunting. I wonder what would happen if she stopped viewing the world from a victim’s perspective, and started viewing it from the perspective of a survivor. I have been Invisible and blamed the world. That mindset rewarded me with more of the same awful feelings. One day I decided to change my way of thinking, and that, eventually, changed my life. Your poem is an excellent reminder of the invisible times. Thank you!
Russ
I think she is seeing the world a lot differently, a year later! 😉 She has carried a lot of wounds invisible to the world – but not unseen by a gracious and healing God!
Powerful…thank you for reposting!
Thanks Patty! 🙂
Beautiful! I spent decades as the Invisible Woman–but God has set me in a “wide place” (Psalm 31:8).
How wonderful is that? Redemption always sounds so sweet…
Amen, amen–I never get tired of that word!
this is truly powerful … I imagine the Father hurting for His daughters. He sees them, even though they seem invisible to the world.
I can’t imagine how His heart grieves over the mess we’ve created! And – how glad I am that not one is overlooked…
I’m thinking that we’ve all had – or most people have had invisible moments. The sad part is when people can’t step into full view or don’t have the support to help them want to be seen.
And so many are stuck there. I want to live seeing them, and drawing them into the light!
I am wondering how much of this poem relates to indivisibility, ( a desire for wholeness), rather than the sadness of invisibility. We may grieve over invisibility and the causes of it ,but do we want the invisible to be seen as much as we want an acceptance and embracing of the whole woman? Eeek…. help me out here. I am not very good at understanding poems! I do know you have written some powerful words though 🙂
You have some excellent insight here, friend. These words come from a deep longing for the wholeness you describe – and the sense of displacement felt during the struggle to grasp it. Your understanding of poetry may just go deeper than you think! 😀
Yay! And there’s another word that embraces a whole world of meaning in just a dozen letters, “displacement”.
Those were powerful words and ideas. Wouldn’t it be nice to have them without the experience.
*sigh* I will admit to that – but the most powerful words and ideas come from the deeper places within, and those seem to only be drawn out under duress. I don’t regret the tough lessons which are growing grace inside me, Lyle…
Meanwhile, Melody Muses... 
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