The RetroLounge Daily Poem Thread (Mon 11/28/05)

For My Lover, Returning To His Wife

She is all there.
She was melted carefully down for you
and cast up from your childhood,
cast up from your one hundred favorite aggies.

She has always been there, my darling.
She is, in fact, exquisite.
Fireworks in the dull middle of February
and as real as a cast-iron pot.

Let's face it, I have been momentary.
A luxury. A bright red sloop in the harbor.
My hair rising like smoke from the car window.
Littleneck clams out of season.

She is more than that. She is your have to have,
has grown you your practical your tropical growth.
This is not an experiment. She is all harmony.
She sees to oars and oarlocks for the dinghy,

has placed wild flowers at the window at breakfast,
sat by the potter's wheel at midday,
set forth three children under the moon,
three cherubs drawn by Michelangelo,

done this with her legs spread out
in the terrible months in the chapel.
If you glance up, the children are there
like delicate balloons resting on the ceiling.

She has also carried each one down the hall
after supper, their heads privately bent,
two legs protesting, person to person,
her face flushed with a song and their little sleep.

I give you back your heart.
I give you permission --

for the fuse inside her, throbbing
angrily in the dirt, for the bitch in her
and the burying of her wound --
for the burying of her small red wound alive --

for the pale flickering flare under her ribs,
for the drunken sailor who waits in her left pulse,
for the mother's knee, for the stocking,
for the garter belt, for the call --

the curious call
when you will burrow in arms and breasts
and tug at the orange ribbon in her hair
and answer the call, the curious call.

She is so naked and singular
She is the sum of yourself and your dream.
Climb her like a monument, step after step.
She is solid.

As for me, I am a watercolor.
I wash off.

Anne Sexton

*********************************************

Enjoy a little Anne Sexton today. Every word exactly where it should be, she takes my breath away...

RL

:hug:

RL

This speaks volumes for a beautiful goodbye when the color fades ...

http://jenniferhanson.lyrics-online.net/BeautifulGoodbye.html

but the memoir remains forever in the heart ...

and Mrs. RL should count her lucky stars to have a guy like you!

:hug:

RL

I love that you're doing these threads. I'm among those who find little time for poetry, although I adore it. So kind of you to share a lovely nugget each day!

:hi:

RL

I am trying to see each poem from your perspective......

It stretches my mind to do that, or even to attempt to do that....

This is one perfect poem, IMHO....

I thank you for each of these, my dear!

Check your PM in a moment, if you would...




:loveya: :hug:

PM back at you...

:hug:

RL

A lover who knows her man....

A lover, who knows the place for a lover...

The time for a lover...

The ephemeral quality of a lover...



Heavy poem for a monday morning....

I love ya dude....

Back slap, hug, look at floor.....

Time with poetry is time well spent. :pals:

How ya doing?

:hi:

RL

wow.

Thanks RL!

not a wasted word anywhere...

:hi:

RL

totally unique images perfectly placed and phrased. Time for some rereading.

:hi:

RL

I like what Skinner has done to the place!

a perfect fit for a dark and rainy afternoon...
bittersweet words.

:hug:

RL

:hug:

:kick:

RL

or, rather, more of the poetry that you're posting. This is beautiful. Although, quite painful. Seems more like the man should be grateful for the lover that he had. For her to be able to produce such a comforting and easy way to go back home. I'm not so sure the wife should be counting her lucky stars for a man who left her to be with someone else. Perhaps, the man should be counting his lucky stars for a lover that wasn't trying to stalk him. I'm going to search for more poems.

I was just rereading what I wrote and it really sounds kind of mean. Sometimes it's hard to convey what you're trying to say via the internet. So much gets lost. I apologize if it was offensive in any way. I think I'll just keep my mouth shut until I get to know you guys better and until you get to know me better. Sorry. :headbang:

wouldn't you think?

:hug:

RL

for communication. can't find today's poem.