Skinner's Pigeon Taps

No Take Two

Let us say that the past is erased,
Like a video tape or something
More modern, maybe a little
Digital drive, and I see her
For what seems the very first
Time, and I soak up her sadness.
I gaze at her face like a guy on
That cliff in Acapulco. I leap.
I fall, and I plunge into her,
And I say what I can to get
Her to be happy, and she is
The water, welcome and warm,
And she smiles at me. She's
Glad I have fallen, and she
Wants me with her, and I
Do not swim for shore; I am
So pleased to have her around
Me. Would I then love her
The way that I did? Oh,
Of course I would It wouldn't
Be as it is now with the tape
Still intact, with her saying
She wants me away. I'm ashore
With my towel, shivering,
Sadly aware of the way things
Have changed. The water is cold.
The woman who was it remains
Sad it seems, but I won't climb
The cliff. There's no reason to
Fall. She will splash in her
Misery in Acapulco. I'll dry
Myself and stagger away
Toward a beach up the coast
Where the water is warmer,
Where what is to be hasn't yet
Been recorded, and needn't yet
Be erased.


Brokenhearted

One broken heart succeeds the other,
The one in the head, then the one
In the chest, the pain of the loss
Of the woman made dull by a shortage
Of oxygen. Sorrow, it seems, cannot
Persist in the rarefied air. I feel myself
Falling into myself like a corpse drifting
Slowly under the waves to a place
On the floor of the sea.


Like a Ghost

I know you're there. I write for you,
Not every time, but fairly often.
I wish I knew what you think.
You're like a ghost. I cannot
Reach you. I do see you
Sometimes, always distant, silent,
Moving off. Rest assured, I wish
You well. I realize we will not
Speak. Nonetheless, I take
Some comfort knowing that
You're there.



Poetry by Lawrence Beck The PoetBay support member heart!
Read 73 times
Written on 2016-10-10 at 01:02

dott Save as a bookmark (requires login)
dott Write a comment (requires login)
dott Send as email (requires login)
dott Print text