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Bertha & I
Tonight I feel like Bertha Mason
with a fire and sadness in my soul.
I pace my room – this attic of madness –
it keeps me sane. I think it keeps me
whole, somehow. There’s no breeze
through the window, just an empty
vastness of night and shadow and
half-lights. And the knock on my door,
well, it came before – today, tomorrow,
or never, who knows. Tonight I am
Bertha Mason. I see her in the mirror,
lifting her hand to strike the match,
to knock the lantern over. I wait for
the crackle and hiss of wood, the empty
kiss of lapping flames. Yet all around
me is darkness, darkness. What burns
is a fury for what’s come before
and will again.
***
To Sylvia
When I put away Ariel
I cannot sleep, though
the night is as you describe
it – black, blue. With the moon,
a white knuckle and terribly
upset. Do you still brood
like a rook in winter,
somewhere behind flowering,
mystical clouds? Or walk
a dark landscape beneath
gothic yew trees? Has the
terror come to life in death?
If so, you could not
have escaped, except for
the aged face in the mirror
that now lies forever youthful;
in the back of your poetry books.
I wonder if you still drag your
marble-heavy bag full of god.
If you still hate as much as you
used to. Or has it all magically
faded and made you pure as
a pane of ice? A gift to the stars.
In the distance, I think I see Ariel
– the hurl of mud from hooves,
the brown arc of neck – and you
alongside, running towards morning.
***
great janice…lookin forward to the next one
Great Janice — very well written,look forward to many more.
Love your style Janice…Exquisite stuff.
brilliant – love them…keep them flowing!
Poetry at its best.
Keep up the good work!
Such wonderful poems. Does the Sylvia of the second poem refer to the Dutch actress Sylvia Kristel? I’ve often ruminated over her ambiguous place in the feminist canon. Nice to see her get her due.
Bertha Mason has fascinated me since I first encountered her at age 12. I love your interpretation.
thank you all…Poetess, I’m actually referring to Sylvia Plath but Kristel sounds as though she definitely deserves her own poem
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“Bertha & I” reminds me of Antoinette Mason from Wide Sargasso Sea. Were you inspired by the original Bertha, or Antoinette (Jean Rhys’ interpretation of Bertha)?