"In the burned house I am eating breakfast.
You understand: there is no house, there is no breakfast,
yet here I am.

The spoon which was melted scrapes against
the bowl which was melted also.
No one else is around.

Where have they gone to, brother and sister,
mother and father? Off along the shore,
perhaps. Their clothes are still on the hangers,

their dishes piled beside the sink,
which is beside the woodstove
with its grate and sooty kettle,

every detail clear,
tin cup and rippled mirror.
The day is bright and songless,

the lake is blue, the forest watchful.
In the east a bank of cloud
rises up silently like dark bread.

I can see the swirls in the oilcloth,
I can see the flaws in the glass,
those flares where the sun hits them.

I can’t see my own arms and legs
or know if this is a trap or blessing,
finding myself back here, where everything

in this house has long been over,
kettle and mirror, spoon and bowl,
including my own body,

including the body I had then,
including the body I have now
as I sit at this morning table, alone and happy,

bare child’s feet on the scorched floorboards
(I can almost see)
in my burning clothes, the thin green shorts

and grubby yellow T-shirt
holding my cindery, non-existent,
radiant flesh. Incandescent.

"

— Margaret Atwood, Morning in the Burned House 

(Source: grammatolatry)

Posted 10 months ago with 102 notes

1. reginaspektrum likes this
2. breakmyribs reblogged this from grammatolatry
3. btfptv likes this
4. imovedawayharhar likes this
5. inkynewt likes this
6. viktoriyaprots likes this
7. inebrians reblogged this from floralnymph
8. midniighttoker likes this
9. epaulettes likes this
10. mybutt-hole likes this
11. likemymask reblogged this from blueshoesandbluemountains
12. likemymask likes this
13. cryst-alised likes this
14. vincentmolloy reblogged this from floralnymph
15. mandi-von likes this
16. dainty-shits reblogged this from emmacolorful
17. blueshoesandbluemountains reblogged this from righteouswaxchaperone
18. dainty-shits likes this
19. righteouswaxchaperone reblogged this from floralnymph
20. emmacolorful reblogged this from floralnymph
21. glimmerkin likes this
22. waldpoesie likes this
23. enigmaticowl reblogged this from floralnymph
24. enigmaticowl likes this
25. jesuisuneamesolitaire likes this
26. floralnymph reblogged this from grammatolatry
27. scribblesandcaffeine likes this
28. weitusrisil reblogged this from grammatolatry
29. kandidescbu reblogged this from grammatolatry
30. organicallygrown reblogged this from grammatolatry
31. babylonhasfallen likes this
32. thegreatleon likes this
33. utterlybanal reblogged this from grammatolatry
34. drabbard reblogged this from grammatolatry
35. anxiouslyalex reblogged this from grammatolatry
36. ohso-youknow reblogged this from grammatolatry
37. missingthejackandtheace likes this
38. attropa-belladonna likes this
39. bijouxfrance likes this
40. hollowseas likes this
41. youblacklagoon likes this
42. helloitsh reblogged this from grammatolatry
43. babyh0ld-still likes this
44. simplymakata likes this
45. merry-go-yay reblogged this from grammatolatry
46. merry-go-yay likes this
47. soulvomitsmind likes this
48. slimbones823 reblogged this from grammatolatry
49. absentzindagi reblogged this from grammatolatry
50. intheconcertroom likes this
51. Show more notesLoading...