>The Passion & The Pain: A Poem by Pete Marshall
>
The Passion & The Pain
by Pete Marshall
As fires drove an incessant burn
that pained the very path of life
silhouettes flashed across the heart
and warmed themselves upon a knife
who’s hilt was jewelled with sapphire & pearl
and blade was tipped in purest gold
her breath blew air across its spine
as mercury dripped in eyes of coal
An image spurned in mirrored light
reflecting back upon his soul
as nights were dark the bed was cold
and earth was where she slivered home
the blade would shine and captivate
exploring eyes and pain alike
the pearl was smooth and creamy pale
but hard to touch in stubborn light
The sapphire burned upon a wound
that filled the room in crimson red
and spread across the unkempt sheets
and tore at flesh no longer dead
the air was breathed in gasps of joy
as earth lay fresh upon the ground
the jewels were shared between two hearts
the blade lay spent within the mound
**************
Today I offer a symbolic tale of passion & pain, that so often comes together after emotions have run high, for One Shot Wednesday, part of One Stop Poetry, a great platform for poets from all over the world to unite, explore and promote poetry of all genres. One Shot opens tonight at 10pm UK time, 5pm EST
by Pete Marshall
As fires drove an incessant burn
that pained the very path of life
silhouettes flashed across the heart
and warmed themselves upon a knife
who’s hilt was jewelled with sapphire & pearl
and blade was tipped in purest gold
her breath blew air across its spine
as mercury dripped in eyes of coal
An image spurned in mirrored light
reflecting back upon his soul
as nights were dark the bed was cold
and earth was where she slivered home
the blade would shine and captivate
exploring eyes and pain alike
the pearl was smooth and creamy pale
but hard to touch in stubborn light
The sapphire burned upon a wound
that filled the room in crimson red
and spread across the unkempt sheets
and tore at flesh no longer dead
the air was breathed in gasps of joy
as earth lay fresh upon the ground
the jewels were shared between two hearts
the blade lay spent within the mound
**************
Today I offer a symbolic tale of passion & pain, that so often comes together after emotions have run high, for One Shot Wednesday, part of One Stop Poetry, a great platform for poets from all over the world to unite, explore and promote poetry of all genres. One Shot opens tonight at 10pm UK time, 5pm EST
Pete Marshall 
October 19, 2010 at 8:36 pm
>Pete this is beautiful.
October 19, 2010 at 8:50 pm
>Truly wonderful work, Pete. Imagery is vivid and full of flash and color, and you tell the story so well.
October 19, 2010 at 8:54 pm
>the passion and the pain – wonder why they so often come together…beautiful poem pete..full of imagery
October 19, 2010 at 9:13 pm
>nice. wonderful imagery pete…passion and pain are lovers themselves…each taking their nip and tuck at times…of course there is the sexual imagery of the knife as well…nice one shot!
October 19, 2010 at 9:23 pm
>The imagery in this was marvellous.
October 19, 2010 at 9:28 pm
>I love this Pete!wherever there is passion, there is always pain..Epic as usual poet..:)
October 19, 2010 at 9:34 pm
>I said I'd write comments today that I would want to hear but Pete, honestly,how does one have anything to say about your work but splendid, brilliant, beautiful, multi-layered leaving one breathless, and in awe.
October 19, 2010 at 9:37 pm
>this had everything! Gorgeous imagery…the knife especially. Well written.
October 19, 2010 at 10:02 pm
>Lots of imagery, felt very intense. Well done again.
October 19, 2010 at 10:04 pm
>Nice use of ambiguity with words like "mound." (Or is my naughty mind reading something into it?)
October 19, 2010 at 10:06 pm
>Dramatic, vivid, easy-to-follow "plot" and natural flow.
October 19, 2010 at 10:06 pm
>Dramatic, vivid, easy-to-follow "plot" and natural flow.
October 19, 2010 at 10:09 pm
>dramatic indeed, loved this pete 😉
October 19, 2010 at 10:15 pm
>For some reason passion and pain always goes hand in hand…full of imagery so well crafted my friend. Wonderful One Shot Brava!!
October 19, 2010 at 10:33 pm
>delicious – simply delicious!
October 19, 2010 at 10:43 pm
>Spectacular Pete, such is life, these contrasts between pain & passion. This was so beautifully done, and rather haunting in some manner of vivid historical impressions. Very engaging, stunning work! ~April 🙂
October 19, 2010 at 11:44 pm
>Really beautiful imagery … very evocative. Thank you!
October 20, 2010 at 12:12 am
>"her breath blew air across its spine…" Vivid, intense, sensual and passionate. A masterful poem…I'm in awe. ~Shell
October 20, 2010 at 12:27 am
>Beautiful. I sense the passion and pain in your heart and familiar to all.
October 20, 2010 at 12:56 am
>You told me your post for today was "good." Understatement of the year. A very telling poem with lyrical flair. Welcome back, Pete
October 20, 2010 at 12:58 am
>Also, was just checking out your One Shot Archive. Be proud of those early posts, my friend 🙂
October 20, 2010 at 1:26 am
>The whole thing was a Jewell….
October 20, 2010 at 1:41 am
>You are the master of poetic and passionate tales! Hats off!
October 20, 2010 at 2:07 am
>This was great. Incredible imagery!
October 20, 2010 at 2:31 am
>Wow! I was captivated. 🙂
October 20, 2010 at 3:22 am
>beautiful rhythm and some wonderful images of the knife the "mercury dripped in eyes of coal" nice Peter you are a alchemist from a previous life — were you a student of Merlin? ….I feel it in a lot of your writings….bkm
October 20, 2010 at 6:10 am
>Pete I have enjoyed your poetry since the beginning. You have hit a new hight with this. emotion and pain are on the forefront this Wednesday – glad I missed that memoI am proud of your work my friendMoonie smilesdid you know we have a competition closing on Friday??? Oh you do!!!
October 20, 2010 at 7:40 am
>thankyou for your comments everyone but yes i would like to add a footnote to this poem….with most of my work i like the initial impact of the poem to be easily understood but then the layers need to be explored….there is obvious sexual imagery in this piece but beyond that there is more…the two signs are gemini & virgo who's elements are air & earth..their stones are pearl & sapphire…mercury is heavily associated to both these signs..coal comes from the earth and so forth…this is just a snippet of its meaning which i hope helps the reader to explore the poem more…cheers Pete
October 20, 2010 at 8:37 am
>The blade of passion and pain. Wonderful work!
October 20, 2010 at 10:00 am
>I loved the line "as mercury dripped in eyes of coal".This is wonderful writing!
October 20, 2010 at 11:08 am
>I got lost in the Passion and the Pain. Silhouettes flashed across the heart and warmed themselves…
October 20, 2010 at 11:20 am
>This is quite breath taking. You paint such a vivid scene with your words. Well done.Christine
October 20, 2010 at 12:20 pm
>I enjoyed it throughly… your words like "The sapphire burned upon a woundthat filled the room in crimson red" took me to the next level of imagery… I enjoyed it so well…thanks for sharing…ॐ नमः शिवायOm Namah ShivayaTwitter: @VerseEveryDayBlog: http://shadowdancingwithmind.blogspot.com/
October 20, 2010 at 1:11 pm
>Wonderful poem…Exquisite!Wysteria
October 20, 2010 at 1:36 pm
>Beautiful, beautiful, such imagery – and so vivid, so passionate. Marvelous construction.
October 20, 2010 at 2:11 pm
>passion and pain, sapphire and pearl… love the contrasts… so much color imagery with the gold-tipped knife, eyes of coal, and the crimson red blood… very visually alluring, with a feel of premodern times… enjoyed reading this very much…. glad you are back. 🙂 heartspell
October 20, 2010 at 3:16 pm
>Powerful, Powerful, Powerful imagery that made me fall right into it. Haunting.Acid trip good stuff…..Lady Nyo
October 20, 2010 at 4:16 pm
>This is a gorgeous piece, Pete, both in the flashing colorful images and the rhythm and pace the words have. Really great One Shot, my friend.
October 20, 2010 at 4:37 pm
>Wonderfully vivid imagery throughout
October 20, 2010 at 5:47 pm
>This offers so many layers of understanding, Pete. I think it's one I could read again and again and come away with something new each time.Victoria
October 20, 2010 at 6:10 pm
>Not sure why exactly… The first two lines of each stanza really grab me. The whole piece is marvellous. Love and Light, Sender
October 20, 2010 at 7:32 pm
>Nice One Shot, Pete… full of intriguing imagery.
October 20, 2010 at 8:16 pm
>A totally orgasmic sumptuous experience! Delving into your poetry is like delving into an adventure. Passionate, amazing. I'm knackered now 🙂 Excellent write!
October 20, 2010 at 8:45 pm
>Great one shot – talking of passion and pain – sister and brother ;)thanks for stopping by my place
October 20, 2010 at 9:40 pm
>Really vivid and intense.
October 20, 2010 at 9:52 pm
>brilliant. i love this line: but hard to touch in stubborn light… something about stubborn light…you woo with your words, friend.
October 21, 2010 at 12:32 am
>Yowza! Way to make it hot and intense all together.
October 21, 2010 at 1:33 am
>I read this one ever so slowly as to savour every word.I'm a gemini.And all my life I felt torn between two sides of me.Passions and Pains.You can't appreciate passion without experiencing pain.A powerful mixture!Brilliant work.Was a pleasure reading it!
October 21, 2010 at 4:06 am
>This is a marvel of a poem, deserving several readings to catch all the details. Fine One Shot!!
October 21, 2010 at 4:26 am
>"the air was breathed in gasps of joy" beautifully written! full of vivid imagery… a pleasure to read.
October 21, 2010 at 12:16 pm
>Now that is a well crafted lyric.Splendid.
October 21, 2010 at 8:35 pm
>Wow. Pretty involved there. I need to go back and read it again. It reminded me of the combination of sex and violence. These things seem opposite (like pleasure and pain) but they also fit so well together. And you showed that in your piece.
October 21, 2010 at 10:00 pm
>Wonderful imagery here.
October 21, 2010 at 11:02 pm
>Very vivid imagery, weaving a torrid tale. I liked this very much.
October 22, 2010 at 12:53 am
>symbolic, not so much… passionate? absolutely! V.cool!
October 22, 2010 at 5:58 pm
>Very beautiful, Pete!
October 23, 2010 at 6:00 am
>as with many of your writings, I find myself unable to grasp it intellectually at first, but my soul seems to know exactly what your words mean the first read through…this poem in particular bypassed my brain – and went straight to my heart. Some say good poetry makes you think but for me great poetry makes me feel something without knowing why and this one did that just that. Awesome oneshot!
October 23, 2010 at 9:04 am
>The glare off your blade made me blind….Brilliant stuff…Regards~ Sayandeep
October 23, 2010 at 9:36 pm
>I'm speechless, and fascinated to the max. Very very amazing peice. Thanks for sharing… . S. Sharp.
October 23, 2010 at 9:47 pm
>Very visual and eloquently done. Great shot~~~~
October 25, 2010 at 3:26 pm
>simply beautiful.love to see it burn in a favorable way.
November 4, 2010 at 11:07 pm
>thanks to you all for your wonderful comments