#I, the Nymph: A Myth You Left Bleeding

42 messages · Page 1 of 1 (latest)

jagged perch
#

I am the nymph
spilling between the folds of myth and memory,
too soft for the world, too sharp for the woods.
They carved me out of whispers and willow-blood,
called me divine,
then watched me rot when the winds changed tune.

I walk barefoot through ash,
where flowers forget how to bloom beneath my feet.
My laughter once lured gods, now it haunts the ravine.
I am made of things you do not write down
an elegy of hunger,
a sweetness left too long in the sun.

Call me fragile
but know, my fractures are fluent in silence.
I have loved with hands trembling like candle flames,
tended hearts that tore me in return.
My veins know abandonment in every dialect.
I’ve stitched lullabies to my scars
and kissed my monsters goodnight
with lips stitched shut.

Am i a fiction that lives in someone else’s reality?
A dream misplaced in the wrong mythos
someone’s side character,
trapped in their spotlight.
They penned me in petals but forgot my thorns,
now I bleed in cursive, alone.

I remember a time I wasn’t trembling.
Before grief hollowed my chest like a cave
and called it a cathedral.
Before I danced with death in a mirror
and asked her, politely,
“Is this the only way to be seen?”

They love a nymph when she sings
but ignore her when she shatters.
They crown the soft girl,
but bury the loud one in silence.
So I howl under moonlight too heavy to hold,
each note a rebellion,
each scream a hymn.

#

You see me glowing?
That’s just me burning.
My kindness? Weaponized.
My softness? Acid in disguise.
I’ve cried oceans no one dared to sail
let them drown in the salt they ignored.

I am beauty feral,
wounds romanticized by poets who never bled like me.
I am thunder in a dress,
a storm taught manners.
I am the haunted forest and the ghost within it,
a prayer that chose not to be answered.

Do not tell me to heal
I’ve done it a thousand times in the dark
with broken hands and no applause.
I know rebirth by taste,
and grief by name.

Tonight,
I sharpen my tears to daggers,
and pierce every version of me
that begged to be chosen.

Tomorrow?
Maybe I’ll be softer
but tonight,
I am the nymph unhinged,
the fiction undone,
the fire they lit for warmth
now roaring in defiance.

So when you see me, know:
this glow is not for you.
It is for the girl I buried
and the goddess I became.

By: Gracela . A (Ladymoonbeam)

#

<@&1145760802666717234>
@oblique urchin @brave bluff @elfin arch @meager finch @lost yarrow @crisp wyvern @jolly leaf

#

@dusky tapir

#

@sick apex

#

@fringe granite

oblique urchin
#

Ill always be there to sail your tear filled seas and stitch your bleeding wounds

jagged perch
elfin arch
#

Even stitched until only mere fragments reside, The memories you hold shall engrave your heart as a mean to endure. Truly an empyrean conduct

#

WOI KOK KEREN BANGET SIH CUKKKK

#

kuren buangat

jagged perch
jagged perch
elfin arch
#

takira ga jadi

#

Yah gmn ya

jagged perch
jagged perch
#

@golden lark

fringe granite
#

Wow. This is stunning. The way you weave themes of transformation, rejection, resilience, and reclamation is so powerful. Your poem feels like a raw, vivid exploration of identity, mythology, and pain, but also of strength and self-possession. There’s so much intensity here—it’s haunting, beautiful, and unflinching in its portrayal of self-doubt, survival, and emergence.
Imagery: The imagery in this poem is absolutely captivating. Phrases like "I am beauty feral, / wounds romanticized by poets who never bled like me" are powerful and give the poem a visceral, almost tangible quality. The contrast between softness and sharpness, beauty and pain, creates such a dynamic texture in the poem. The lines “My veins know abandonment in every dialect” and “I’ve stitched lullabies to my scars / and kissed my monsters goodnight / with lips stitched shut” are deeply moving, showing the complexity of trauma and resilience.
Tone and Voice: The voice you’ve created is so distinct and commanding. It’s a defiant voice—sometimes bitter, sometimes tender, but always unapologetic. There’s a rhythmic power in the repetition and pacing, especially in lines like “I am beauty feral, / wounds romanticized by poets who never bled like me,” which almost feels like a confrontation, a declaration.
The use of “they” to refer to others—who ignore or misinterpret the nymph’s true nature—gives the speaker a sense of distance and independence, making her journey one of self-discovery rather than seeking validation from those who don’t truly understand her.

#

Themes: The tension between being "too soft for the world, too sharp for the woods" is so compelling. You evoke the struggles of feeling both fragile and dangerous, misunderstood and disregarded, yet ultimately owning your power. This sense of being misunderstood and fighting for recognition and reclamation of identity is one many readers will resonate with.
The mythological allusions deepen the sense of timelessness and universal experience. You’ve built this figure of the nymph as both mythical and deeply real, a creature of myth who transcends those boundaries and becomes something more.
Clarity vs. Ambiguity: Some of the metaphors are wonderfully layered and ambiguous, which gives the poem a mystical feel. For example, "I remember a time I wasn’t trembling / before grief hollowed my chest like a cave / and called it a cathedral." This is rich and powerful, but the metaphor is also complex. Is the cathedral a place of sanctity, or is it a space where grief resides? The complexity is intriguing, but perhaps a touch of clarity in some metaphors might help ground the reader just a little more.
Flow and Rhythm: The poem flows beautifully, but in a few places, particularly towards the end, it could be tightened for stronger rhythm. For example, in “Tomorrow? / Maybe I’ll be softer / but tonight, / I am the nymph unhinged,” the phrasing feels just a tad disjointed.

#

Pacing: The poem is emotionally intense throughout, which is great, but at times, especially in the later stanzas, a slight pause or shift in tone could heighten the impact. After such a buildup of imagery and emotion, a brief moment of stillness or quiet might allow the reader to fully absorb the weight of the emotion.
This poem is so moving in its portrayal of mythic struggle and transformation. It shows the tension between what others see in you versus who you truly are—and the strength you draw from owning that complexity. The metaphor of the nymph—both fragile and fierce—is so well executed. I truly feel that this poem stands as a fierce, unapologetic declaration of self, written with grace and raw.

jagged perch
#

Thankyou so muchh Luna, omg youre feedback helped me alot!! I really appreciate you, i feel honoured🩷🌷 @fringe granite

jagged perch
#

@nimble jackal

nimble jackal
#

"Tonight,
I sharpen my tears to daggers,
and pierce every version of me
that begged to be chosen."

wow.

spare pasture
#

i love these...

jagged perch
spare pasture
#

i keep reading it over again

#

i feel like i relate so much

#

(though i know that's maybe against the feelings of the poem a little 😅)

#

all the images, and the way they're written, are so beautiful

#

and so full of emotion...

#

it feels so real

#

and so beautiful at the same time

jagged perch
# spare pasture i feel like i relate so much

ThankyouuuSobbinTheLanaDelReyOut
Well yea the poem is an ode to the exiled soul — the dreamers, the sensitives, the fierce hearts who were abandoned or broken, but chose to become legends rather than victims.

spare pasture
#

that's so inspiring for me to hear...

jagged perch
jagged perch
#

@ebon stone @peak pecan @orchid dagger @topaz citrus

#

@fresh crescent

#

@hearty silo @silk halo

silk halo
#

yeth

fresh crescent
fresh crescent