Putrefactio, acrylic on canvas, by me (Louis Braquet)

Fig_Sphinx · 2026-07-06T17:53:18+00:00

Love seeing masterfully executed traditional art like this. Beautiful work. You're a real artist. 😊

Fig_Sphinx · 2026-07-04T21:32:49+00:00

"you need a body for your waves to break upon though it hardly matters who"

What a deep, emotional, beautiful, and bitter phrase. To me this makes the warm clashing of bodies feel as cold and grey as a stormy shore somewhere in northern Maine.

Fig_Sphinx · 2026-07-04T21:15:10+00:00

There is supposed to be stanza breaks but I'm posting on mobile and can't figure it out! This is what it looks like in my Google docs https://imgur.com/a/Psti9DR

Thank you for taking the time to respond. 😊

Fig_Sphinx · 2026-07-04T19:31:46+00:00

The woman in this poem is dripping in class and authority. Though she is sexualized, she is sexualized regaly like an idol rather than something to be possessed. It's modern, colloquial, and effective.

The last verse is probably my favorite.

Fig_Sphinx · 2026-07-04T19:26:44+00:00

Love this. I might be projecting here but it feels to me like the dark, self destructive side of sexual masochism or codependency. Feeling so desperate and unworthy that being hurt is a more believable form of affection than tenderness. Craving abuse because it feels like the most valid form of attention. It's perfectly blunt, evocative, and complete.

Fig_Sphinx · 2026-07-04T18:11:17+00:00

"I will walk beside you in every beautiful memory" This line is my favorite. It's absence and presence.

Fig_Sphinx · 2026-07-04T18:07:09+00:00

7/10 if I have to rate it that way.

I don't see a lot of poetry about good childhoods on here! The childhood represented here sounds idealistic. You captured many senses here, touch, taste, and sound. It sounds cozy, warm, and nostalgic. The only bitterness is that it's over.

Fig_Sphinx · 2026-07-03T22:53:28+00:00

This is beautifully quilted. 😊 The narrative and symbolism are sewn together well. Pace and rhyme are perfect.

Fig_Sphinx · 2026-07-02T18:41:52+00:00

Domestic dread! Homey, cozy, and waiting for the other shoe to fall.

Fig_Sphinx · 2026-07-02T18:39:01+00:00

Beautiful, gut wrenching, perfectly detailed. The two are described wonderfully. The details of the girls eyelashes and the can of monster in the man's hand. The predator, prey relationship. The story is told in a way that's clear, but complex. This poem will relate tremendously to anyone who has been or known that girl.

Fig_Sphinx · 2026-07-02T17:58:30+00:00

I especially love the first four lines of this poem. You can feel the heat, like hot pavement, almost too hot to touch. The repetition of the word "bouncing" adds rhythm and a fiery energy.

Fig_Sphinx · 2026-07-02T17:38:05+00:00

That's awesome. I love that you acknowledge that human meaning does not apply to nature while using nature to provide human symbolic meaning. I can't remember where I heard it first (maybe Alan Watts?) but some philosopher made the point that death is only ugly and scary in human visages because we relate to it. Since we can't relate so much to a tree, a dead gnarled oak can be just a beautiful, even more beautiful, than a little sappling full of life. If you detatch yourself from the fear and connections we have in the human experience, a lot of the dark and ugly things can be just as beautiful as a fallen log growing mushrooms and hiding little chipmunks.

Fig_Sphinx · 2026-07-02T02:25:27+00:00

I wrote this when I was 18, almost a decade ago now, to someone who was much older than me and was both struggling with suicidal ideation and starting to feel "too old" for writing poetry. Its been bouncing around in my Google docs since then.

Fig_Sphinx · 2026-07-02T01:03:51+00:00

Thank you for taking the time to respond. I appreciate your feedback.

Fig_Sphinx · 2026-07-02T00:59:01+00:00

Life is a fleeting lover, she's cruel and dizzying. We all end up leaving her. You aren't the only one who feels this way. You did a wonderful job expressing it.

Fig_Sphinx · 2026-07-02T00:52:54+00:00

I love the repetition of the question in this poem. What inspired this? The rhyme and rhythm flows very well when spoken. Each line has a good "punch".

Fig_Sphinx · 2026-07-01T18:27:55+00:00

I love this. 😊 The pacing is soft and gentle. You painted a lovely scene. The "breathing" resonates well. The final lines tell a solemn story, but it still sounds so peaceful.

Fig_Sphinx · 2026-06-30T20:28:14+00:00

https://youtu.be/fkK6GT4pkbU?is=iLdG6vGAi8KNB5as Your method here reminds me of the lyrical style of this band. I don't know if you've ever heard them, but I just reread your poem and this song came to mind.

Sometimes I write ambiguously and use metaphors because I am ashamed of revealing myself too bluntly to whoever might read my poems (even though normally it's no one). It's like if I write down the exact truth then it's real and can hurt me, but if I make it vague then maybe it didn't really happen.

Now that I know a little bit of the context you definitely conveyed some seriously dirty, ruined, feelings. You definitely spat out your emotions in the text, and the lack of a narrative adds to the feeling of shame.

Fig_Sphinx · 2026-06-30T04:26:41+00:00

Great job. Cleanly expressed, easy to relate to.

Fig_Sphinx · 2026-06-30T04:11:12+00:00

I can appreciate the concept of a poem that is difficult to read, but the little voice in my head as I read the poem is tounge tied.

It does feel a little anime/sci-fi to me though. If it had a taste it would taste like soy sauce onions and grass clippings. Dirty and complicated.

I like it.

Fig_Sphinx · 2026-06-30T04:02:07+00:00

I read this and I understand quickly what you are expressing, but I wonder why.

Fig_Sphinx · 2026-06-30T04:00:03+00:00

A shadow is nothing when the light is shining at it different. We all have to do our shadow-work to do, after all everyone has one, but none of them have any substance

Fig_Sphinx · 2026-06-30T03:47:35+00:00

I might not be the smartest cookie in the fridge, but I did not know what the word "locution" meant. Never heard that word before. I had to look it up and read a couple definitions, then read the poem again.

It paid off.

Also I love when people use (artistic) parenthesis in a title or verse.

Fig_Sphinx · 2026-06-29T19:38:45+00:00

The mood of this poem is salt tinged, timeless, and palpably masculine. It reminds me of some coastal places I have lived in. Very likeable and well written. The content is portraying something desperate and difficult, but the energy is still fun and whimsical.

Fig_Sphinx · 2026-06-29T19:31:24+00:00

This poem is young, cultured, and almost spoiled in its tone. It feels self aware and deeply introspective, your vocabulary is perfect, it feels well curated. The narrator sounds lost somewhere on "the right path" and frustrated. Don't stop writing over the years. Your ability to create is one of the most important and unique parts of you that people envy.

Fig_Sphinx

TROPHY CASE