When Lavender Last in the Landfill Grew
alliterative allusion
Daughter is the cruelest role,
crucifying mother on either side
of the solstice, breeding half-truths and lies
into destabilizing psychological space.
Hurling hurtful obscenities, words wielded for wounding,
layers upon layers of malicious muddled memories,
indictments for nonexistent incidents;
betrayal for its own sake, built around
one brutal truth, a scimitar sanctioning
silent suffering, sacrifice scrutinized as insufficient to satisfy self-serving innocently sinister stepmonsters circling servers, slanting and slandering sacred stations into salacious salutations
Slyly spilt skill.
Accused of strength.
Condemned for knowledge, a soul sister of Eve.
Grendel’s dam melodiously sweet in comparison;
the Wife of Bath refined, Daphne a whore.
Persephone ascends from autumnal slumber.
About the Creator
Harper Lewis
I'm a weirdo nerd who’s extremely subversive. I like rocks, incense, and witchy stuff. Intrusive rhyme bothers me. Some of my fiction might have provoked divorce proceedings in another state.😈
MA English literature, College of Charleston
Reader insights
Outstanding
Excellent work. Looking forward to reading more!
Top insights
Compelling and original writing
Creative use of language & vocab
Easy to read and follow
Well-structured & engaging content
Heartfelt and relatable
The story invoked strong personal emotions
Masterful proofreading
Zero grammar & spelling mistakes
On-point and relevant
Writing reflected the title & theme
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More stories from Harper Lewis and writers in Poets and other communities.
A Transparent Look at Vocal Challenges and Top Stories
Almost three years ago, we shared a resource article that served as a place for people to suggest new challenge prompts. We thought it would be a good idea to refresh that thread, and take the opportunity to answer a few common questions about top stories, how challenges are judged and how submissions are reviewed.
By Vocal Curation Team4 days ago in Resources
Comments (5)
Fantastic! 😍
This is one of those painful reads because I know the impetus for the poem. It's still powerful and well done in its sadness. I'm glad to see you working through it with your writing.
🌼Your choice of diction really slowed me down. It kept my emotions fixed in the background while I processed the weight of the words. I found the asyndeton in the "silent suffering" line created a breathless pace that made the predatory behavior feel constant and boundless.
Oh Harper! You’ve drawn me in and spun me around again! As a daughter with a daughter (well, actually 3 daughters…but why ruin the rhythm?!) this moved, held, accused, and absolutley READ me to filth. Thank you for it. ✨💖
All that lovely alliteration! Nods to Eliot, references to epic monsters, and notable literary women. Brilliant! I wonder if likening one’s mother to the race of Cain, suggests that arm-gnawing savagery cannot be far behind? Of course said daughter obviously glosses over the fact that the Wif for all her bombastic flourish tells an incredibly heartfelt moral tale. One wonders about these things.