from FOR S., 8 POEMS–1&2-combined w/3 &4

poems


1  Still Wanting

 

Both with grown children,

We’re surprised by this chance

At love.  You’re stunning,

High cheekbones, hazel eyes.

Naughty, a girl I want,

Calls every few hours, meeting

Atlanta, Jackson, Oxford.

You starting to call me Baby.

       —summer 2012–

 

2  New Mexico

 

We chose Taos, to winter.

First morning, sick, S went back

To bed.  I wandered, cafes,

Bookstores, and a mineral shop

Where I spent an hour hunting

A gift to please her.

Examined thunder eggs, geodes,

Then a trilobite, back plates

Overlapping like samurai armor.

Her eyes a cool fire, half-

Smile, “since I was a girl, I’ve

Always wanted a trilobite.”

 

3  Butter

 

Breakfast was real oatmeal

Every morning in Taos,

Served at the kitchen table

By the window.  Ravens

In the courtyard.

You always put a dab of butter

In my bowl, covered it

So it would melt completely.

 

4  Understanding (New Year’s Eve, Taos)

 

You slipped into the study,

I followed, locking the door.

Your sarong at your feet,

Hazel eyes, serene, oval face,

Golden hair all in a swirl.

Now–eased–on your side,

Still coming in ripples, you

In the cove of my arms.

I whisper, just the beginning.

“Baby, too fast,” you say.

I grab a fistful of damp hair.

Your nails rake my cheek.

 

0 0 votes
Rate This Writing
Subscribe
Notify of
7 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
ifyouplease

not my favorite parts, but very very very very good poems

stormwolf

It’s good to read this again. I liked it the first time I read it. Naughty, a girl I want, Calls every few hours, This is where I tend to think cutting words can be confusing 😉 Does the naughty girl call every few hours?…or are you saying that you both exchange calls every few hours? There is a very subtle difference. I liked the hour spent trying to find the right gift and also the originality of the trilobite. How many woman want such a gift? This speaks of a real understanding of what makes her tick. back plates… Read more »

stormwolf

Yes, I think the whole poem could have been posted in one posting. 🙂 It would bring out the whole scenario and you could keep the headings, just a different presention.
You do manage to say so much in so few words, a skill,not easily managed. I have to work on that! haha
Alison x
But then, I can talk the hind legs off a donkey.

stormwolf

🙂

sweetwater

Very interesting, a drawing in of the reader, leaving so much unsaid but hinting at far more to come in the relationship. Looking forward to the next ones. Sue.

leila

Swep, sensual, spare and compelling, you tease with just enough, the rest implied, I look forward to reading them all…Leila

I’m liking most of the changes you’ve made – and I know how very many edits you go though!

Am wondering about the title of the first. Although I don’t really recall your original version, I do feel the title made sense to me then, where it doesn’t seem to evoke the same clarity now.

Yes, all of these pieces are still very suggestive, if not downright steamy, but my favorite is the gentle, lovely Butter which speaks of so much more than the merely physical. Of something far deeper and lasting.

Good stuff, my friend. bel 🙂