Grégorienne observed her profile in a wooden frame.
Men circulated outside of it in a dysfunctional constellation.
She pretended to be a girl when they took her into their defeating arms.
And as they incarcerated her body in their flesh, she felt at home.
The words they carved into her awoke her in the morning when she stumbled
Across her face, her sleepwalking eyes, unearthed, and she knew she was utterly helpless.
She thinks that she won’t survive if she listens to herself.
She is convinced that she’s lost and that only they can guide her, lose
Her further, she wants to be numb, they can do that, but she always feels
Like an attacked animal, partially eaten, partially digested, yet alive, sliced,
Resisting the loss of flesh, exposed in the dark spotlight. And she moans, not because
They do right by her, no, because she cannot commit to either life or death, stuck in-between.
“Barine” by Edward Poynter (1836-1919)
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My name is Laura Gentile. I’m of German-Italian descent and I speak five languages such as English, German, French, Italian, Luxembourgish and I’m currently learning Romanian.
I hold a Master of Arts Degree in English Literature, Film and Visual Culture (Dissertation: The Decadent in Love with his Psychopomp: Thomas Mann's 'Death in Venice' and Adrian Lyne's 'Lolita') and a Master of Letters by Research in English Literature, Film and Visual Culture (Thesis: Romanticising Decadence and Aestheticising Death: Women as Projection Bodies and Mimetic Identities in Zola’s 'Thérèse Raquin', Schnitzler’s 'Dream Story', Süskind’s 'Perfume: The Story of a Murderer' and Eugenides’ 'The Virgin Suicides').
My debut novel, 'Within Paravent Walls', will be published by WiDo Publishing / E. L. Marker.
I am the creator of "Croque-Melpomene: Femalecentric Poetry" and I have a YouTube channel carrying the same name.
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YouTube: Croque-Melpomene
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Contact Email Address: croquemelpomene@gmail.com
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