Poetry Emotion
by
Book Cover & Preview Text
Nine-eleven.
I revisit the nightmare every year.
Floor 104.
How could I have grasped
I would not come home that night,
That this day, the most important in my life,
Would be my last,
Though I was much too young to die.
We are stuck.
Can’t go up, can’t go down.
The walls are crumbling, bubbling all around.
Thick acrid smoke pours through every crack.
The heat unbearable,
Temperatures soar.
The flames below
Feast on the tower
And will destroy
Everything in its path,
Inexorably.
It stands to reason
The tower will collapse.
It is only a matter of time.
As my skin melts in the heat,
My lungs on fire, I wheeze,
Desperate for air.
We smash the window and
Look down on the world
That looks up at us
In helpless despair.
When the realisation hits,
My panic gives way to calm.
There is no escape,
No rescue plan.
An invisible force pulls at my arm
Whilst an inner voice commands,
“Get out,
You’ve said your goodbyes.
Now is your time.”
I stand on the ledge,
Take in the fresh air,
Gushing winds await me
To carry me from there.
One last look at my friends,
The sky,
The earth I so love,
I think of my family, my children, my man,
My heart aches as I whisper farewell.
I jump…
Into the arms of the wind.
I fly
Past the debris,
Past the tumbling tower.
I fly up to heaven.
I am an angel now.
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Book Details
About the Book
Poetry Emotion is a compilation of poems spanning the last 35 years. During the last 10 years, I have begun to use poetry as a tool to help express my feelings, bring a sense of perspective and to enable me to move on with my life. Hence, my poems are frank and an illustration of aspects of the human condition that are close to the hearts of most people — love, lust and life.
I have also enjoyed writing from the perspective of others. Their fantasies and conversations have formed the starting point for some of my work as have some of the events that have altered our world. Each poem tells a story and by virtue of their subject matter, some are sexually explicit.
Poetry Emotion consists of six chapters. Each covers one of the main groups of emotions: fear, anger, love, lust, sadness and joy. Reactions to my poems have been positive. They have been described as ‘touching and lasting’, ‘of incredible purity and power’, ‘passionate and thoughtful’ and ‘beautifully sensual’.
—Sibylla Chan
For Adults Only
About the Author
Sibylla Chan read Comparative Education and Biology at the University of London (MEd) 1981 and Contemporary German Studies at Thames Valley University (PG Dip) 1998. Born in 1946 in the Netherlands, she has been resident in England since the mid-60s and has spent most of her life teaching in one form or other — be it biology, chemistry, modern languages, or yoga.
She now lives in Plymouth where she runs the House of Yoga, teaching Hatha Yoga and facilitating bespoke yoga retreats. In addition, she has always had a profound interest in writing, using language as a tool of communication to begin with and, latterly, as a means of self-expression.
Her work is honest and reaches out to people on all levels. The poetry is bold and she is not afraid to tackle the taboo in her own unique style.