Poems

The Novel Man Ruined Us

Image Credit: Kchung via 123RF

Now I’m a liar
a cheat
a pretender
a shit
do you remember
my plea
for us to be
in peace
like it is
at the bank of the sea
where the cool breeze
blows softly
or roughly sometimes;
whispering sweet melody
to listening ears like the trees’
But a chance I wasn’t given
to show you true romance
not even from a distance
yet you used the guy
in the novel for an instance.
I could never have been
the novel man
neither can I have his passion
but in my heart’s little mansion
you were the queen
with no objection
still the novel man you wanted
so his persona I acted
offering fake passion
to soothe your hunger for perfection.
You wouldn’t have called me
a liar, a cheat,
a pretender or a shit
if you had seen
that love comes in different flavors
and me and the novel man
can’t bring same savor.

For One Stop Wednesday, week 1

30 thoughts on “The Novel Man Ruined Us”

  1. Interesting poem. I liked the way you talked about the ordinary and painful stuff we all face, without being overly emotional about it!

    This is an interesting blog, I will be poking my nose in here at some later stage 😀

  4. Damn cool poem Ibok..U rock 🙂

    Guess will have to start sharing some little secrets of mine too with you 😉

    Love the way this poem talks about superficialities and masks in one breath..

    Wonderful…keep writing!

  5. Wow! So often we think we want something, demand it from those around us, accepting pretty lies rather than profound and frightening truths only to remain miserable. Wow!

  6. Proud to write novels after this poem. lol Seriously though, great poetry. Lyrical, honest, and moving.

  7. Thank you, My Friend…for this line…
    “still the novel man you wanted
    so his persona I acted
    offering fake passion
    to soothe your hunger for perfection.”…it bothers me on some level; a good, contemplative bother. I’m challenged now to think it through. Well done.

    Rally On!

  9. Real men always have big hearts!!!! No pretension

    Emmanuel I am always inspired by your work – I know it is dealt from the heart my friend

    So glad you are here for 1 shot – would’nt have been a party without you

    Love from the Moon

  10. “but in my heart’s little mansion
    you were the queen
    with no objection”

    that is beautiful imagery of a man so obviously hurt. Love come in different flavours indeed, just hard to see sometimes when you stand too close. great poem Emmanuel

  11. I can so relate to this poem. Many times I have wondered if there is a man out there like novel man. There are some that come close, but novel man is one of the reasons we have a book fetish! Very well written!

  12. I really like your approach and imagery. Are you still angry or do you see the falsehood as a blessing for you?

  13. Novel men are so over-rated, in my opinion.

    You poetry, on the other hand deserves the highest rating!

    You have cut to deep emotion quickly and with shattering truth.

  14. Wow Em, Beautiful and very very touching…the way you create emotions through words, blows my mind every time! Such deep emotions and oh, so very true …x

  15. Great poem. Loved the way it ended. I also like the tone of the poem, I could really hear the upset. Wonderful!

  16. Wow man!!! You bring out to the fore, the deepest inhibitions/fears one has, and you do it in STYLE !
    If all poetry were my ice-cream , I think this one just became my cherry !!! Fabulous!

  17. Wow – didn’t know that men knew how women dream sometimes of their novel heroes..;=) and use them for an instance… and how much it can hurt. Thanks – really like this!
    Claudia

  19. great job ibok. thanks for linking in with onestop. its hard to watch them choose someone ou know wont be true to them, esp when you have feelings and know you can provide so much more…nice write.

  20. Emmanual –Brillant, love the title, amazing how we view our relationships – expecting perfection, expecting to live out love in the Novel of our dreams…. artfully unfolded in this piece ..blessings…bkm

  22. hi Lordy

    what a great entry..Lordy at his best..thanks for coming by and keep writing man.. cheers.. Pete…loved the short lines as it made me rush through it as if reading it with the spite you wanted to capture

  25. sharp.
    it reads like a story,
    I feel like pealing an onion layer by layer, it is cool to see the core-hard truth in people who are in disguise!

    extraordinary job!

      1. u r the most brilliant poet…
        not only write well, but also have your own mind and heart…thinking for yourself is the way one stands out.

  26. Wow! spoken with such passion and insight. some people only see the dot above the letter ‘i’ and never see below the surface — the real man — they see only in terms of superficialities.

    Excellent.

    Joanny

    1. Joan,
      You’re always the first to comment each time I post. I wonder how you do it…I really do appreciate your follow…it is a beautiful thing.
      Cheers!

      1. Wow! I have known too many people like the woman in your prose. In my particular circumstance I was the man and the woman was my dad. I thank God I finally found the courage to be the person I was meant to be, not the one that was expected of me.

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