something old, something new




Quietly Jazzed

 


My hand glides over satin hills, 
Comes to rest on the summit,
Lingers, savors, contemplates,
Forgets time and place, becomes 
Lost in sensation while birdsong
Whispers without, breeze chants 
In harmony, surf acts the metronome.


I wonder if Professor Eliot will scold me for this romanticism. 
He’ll say the form is haphazard.
He’ll ask what meter I’m using, and why.


There is patience, there is impatience.
My hand that is still cannot be still.
The summit rises and falls, sounds
Fall away until there is only the rush 
Of breath, the intake, the exhalation,
The intake, the halt, the exhalation, 
A rhythm beat in syncopation.


At least the conceit isn’t strained.
He’ll say it’s time worn.
He may like the aesthetic distance.
He may not.


Autumn sun falls seaward, falls away
To dusk, to night, gives way to moonlight, 
Soft light revealing satin devoid of color, 
But rich in shades of grey.  Outside—
A hint of cool.  Inside—no, what was
Temperate is no longer so. No, what
Was steady heartbeat is no longer so.


He may concede the dashes work well.


What is felt is given, what is given is felt.
Richness flows, an inland stream 
laced with salt, delta bound, pulled 
by this half-moon tide, pulled, willed,
incanted by the song, the breeze, the surf.
In all there is softness, gentleness.
Half-light, last-light, gives way to love.


He’ll have me read Piers Plowman.
I’ll tell him I’ve been reading Sappho.











  





Poetry by one trick pony The PoetBay support member heart!
Read 805 times
Written on 2015-11-03 at 21:03

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Jamsbo Rockda The PoetBay support member heart!
I too like the way you switch in and out but keep the theme. It is like watching tv and changing the channels adroitly. And I love the line "What is felt is given, what is given is felt". Nice :)
2015-11-09


Lawrence Beck The PoetBay support member heart!
"Aesthetic distance," yes, that's it. The writer never is totally absorbed by what is happening around her because she's always thinking about how she will write about it.
2015-11-04



Your poetry has such a magical quality. I enjoyed this immensely, the way you can flow from one subject to another and keep the flow of the poem seemingly uninterrupted. It's sensitive, sensual, and beautiful. You even brought in the moon!
Love it!
Ashe
2015-11-04



i like it but it's quite difficult... i am not sure of the translation i've made
"At least the conceit isn't strained.
He'll say it's time worn."
for instance
well done anyway
2015-11-04


Arunesh dixit
Extremely romantic.
2015-11-04


ken d williams The PoetBay support member heart!
I love your work - go's just right - from strength - strength - go with the breeze - at times go's against the wind - like a lown - sailor - tacking her sails - to go where she - decides her boat goes - reads her charts - writes - HER own charts! ;)
Ken D ;) :)
2015-11-03


countryfog
Were she still around Sappho would be reading you. This is pitch perfect.
2015-11-03