I’d single out your artificial scent on the street
And return to faded memories attached to heavy
Stones, an internalised monolith severed from a churchyard.
I crumbled behind your loud imposing steps and couldn’t find
The roots of my own voice in my throat. You’d cripple everything
Beneath your feet. The life-giving heartbeat of others.
You grew such a thick skin that you forgot what it feels like
To be cold. Your gaze hardened, you tightened everything
Within you. You’re easily seduced into identities that have nothing
To do with you. Portray yourself within a brazen frame, seeking meaning
Without, rejecting the girl you have been, killing her silently, maintaining
Your smile. You’ve turned yourself into a statue that will never grow.
“Henriette Sontag” by Paul Delaroche (1797-1856)
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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.
Find me here:
YouTube: Croque-Melpomene
Twitter: lauragentile13
Pinterest: lauragentile12
Instagram: croque_melpomene12
Goodreads: Laura Gentile
LinkedIn: Laura Gentile
Contact Email Address: croquemelpomene@gmail.com
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