Tarot Card Series: The Two of Swords

TWO OF SWORDS

Lost in the unending night

of his gaze,

I believed him when

he whispered in my ear.

I let his chaos close around me

like a fist.

Ensconced in this void,

I breathed little—lived on dreams as

white flowers bloomed in my belly, thinking

of lips, painted by vanilla vodka, a violin’s curve,

a world of strange and beautiful magnets,

governed by balance.

He was the king on a toppled chair,

his tumbledown tower at his feet.

He gave me an orchard of rotting fruit, and

seven years of bad luck

because I didn’t love him.

Blindfolded, I unsheathed my swords.

The hand opened, a flat palm, pale in the twilight.

Alone, I walked the shoreline, strewn with wreckage,

through the gate to the garden of bones.

While writing Bad Omens, I created a series of tarot card poems. I would pull a card, then just write whatever came to me.

The Two of Swords card is about having a problem, but not being able to see the solution. The woman in the picture is blindfolded and balancing two swords. The rocky background behind the woman in the picture indicates her internal emotions. This card is about using both your mind and emotions to find a solution to whatever ails you.

“Two of Swords” is the first poem in this series that I wrote. It was created when I first started reading the tarot, when I was keeping a journal of daily card pulls to learn the meanings behind the cards. At the time, I was struggling to speak my own truths. I felt directionless. The Two of Swords told me to look within myself to find the answers.

Bad Omens is available for preorder now! Releases 2/17.

Featured Image Credit: petr sidorov

Tarot card image: Jessica Drake-Thomas

“Two of Swords” originally appeared in Terse Journal.