You still, Carlos,
Gone to dreams,
Command me
To my toes
In upstairs rooms.
But try as I might
I find nothing much
Left for your admiring.
I am all over limbs
And breasts
That fall beneath the weight
Of long past need.
Yet when I lift my dress
And croon your joyous song,
Can you hear with me
Echoes of your singing?
Can you see me dance
When everyone is sleeping?
Who is to there to say
You would not love me still?
I lift my arms and twirl
Beyond the silken mists,
I dance and sing your song
In the light of your strong will.
With loving gratitude to my friend Bob, who gifted me with William Carlos Williams all over again.
pure bliss! oh yes!
ReplyDelete"Can you see me dance
ReplyDeleteWhen everyone is sleeping?
Who is to say that you
Would not love me still?"
These lines were my favorite... simply striking!!!:)
Karen, it's all alright... i understand... thank you for your visit and glad you liked my simple present to you... your presence brought smile on my lips...!!!:)
>keep safe!!!:)
~Kelvin
A great choice.
ReplyDeleteToe and heel
ReplyDeleteheel and toe
Karen- its strange, I can hear a record played through with the needle just rubbing the label. Its actually quite lovely. Your writing is so lovely and your questions so absolute. I shall think on this one for a spell. ~rick
ReplyDeleteKaren, this is one of your best poems yet. I could feel the rhythm and cadence of it deep in my soul. Fabulous, just fabulous!!! Love & Blessings, poet-friend!! (PS: I love WCW also.)
ReplyDeleteAnd now you have offered us a love poem. You respond to requests. :D
ReplyDeleteLove becomes more complex when youth departs.
There is one thing that seems to be required, that one forget oneself.
as if the speaker were dancing and/or acting in a slightly (?) seducing manner.
ReplyDeletegreat choice of photo.
Well, Karen you have touched me very deeply with this poem. First, you know my love of WCW - it was love at first sight back at WVT. ;) And you know my love of dance. So, on subject alone, I admire this very much.
ReplyDeleteBut, so much more - I love your abandonment in writing this. You have opened up to the reader so genuinely. How ironic and lovely, that the dancer is hiding, so that you could emerge, emotionally. I am not saying that you have not been truthful in your poetry. You most certainly have been. But, I am struck by this. The dancer is self-conscious, but the dancer as speaker is saying, "Here I am, this is me." It is poignant and joyful at the same time.
I don't think I am doing a good job of saying what I feel. (Seems to be that way more and more with me) I really think this ranks among your finest. It spills out effortlessly!!
Carlos would have the highest regard and deepest love for the dancer in the upstairs room - taken with her in every way. It is a wonderful affirmation of the human spirit. We love, therefore we are.
Karen
ReplyDeleteThis is beyond wonderful for me..a bit of magic on a dreary day
I claim the feeling
Well done
Linda
This painting by John Singer Sargent has always been one of my faves. Beautiful tribute to WCW. I love the sound of "in the light of your strong will". Beautiful ending. I need to revisit WCW, as well. Thanks for the inspiration.
ReplyDeleteKay - Thank you!
ReplyDeleteKelvin - Thanks to you, too!
Dave - Glad you think so.
TWM - The only way to keep on...
Rick - Thank you for that.
Marion - Thanks! I want your wheelbarrow! (Actually, I might just "borrow" the idea. Would that be okay?)
Christopher - I guess I did, didn't I? :-)
SzelsoFa - Yes, the sweet longing is still there, although the only one in the mirror is her.
Kaye - I still think about those plums. Isn't that just perfection?
Thanks for your comments, and I know exactly what you mean about the truth. I did give up some of the distance I usually keep. Maybe that's my growing belief that there are some things I have to say no matter who knows or what they think.
You know, I think he would like her. Thanks for the gift of that statement. :-)
Linda - When something I've written can do that, I am so pleased. Thanks, Linda.
The words resound to a hidden rythm of the dance, bewitching.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful! As others have said, the rhythm and emotions of it just carry you up and right along to the end, from the simple steps to the elegant finale. A good way to pay homage to Mr. WCW. :)
ReplyDeleteFantastic. I love that the poem ends with the two words "strong will." Lovely rhythm. You had me dancing right along with you.
ReplyDeleteI love WCW, too. His Sapphic rhythms are amazing. It also amazes me how much writing he did...poetry, fiction, plays, novels, essays, etc. in addition to being a doctor.
I also love that the poem is continuous and without stanza break. Wonderful work!
Willow -I've yet to find a John Singer Sargent that I didn't love - or a WCW, for that matter! Thanks!
ReplyDeletejinksy - Thank you!
joseph - Thank you. I always value your comments.
Julie - Your comments, too, always mean so much to me. I'm not surprised you love him, too. Besides his great range, I love his language. His mixture of earthy phrases with technical terms and beautiful imagery is amazing. Thanks for your comments. Your opinion counts very highly!
Hi,
ReplyDeleteI am not Expert in language .But i saw ur prifile.u said one like"I am mother,daughter,sister," enough to know you.
plexasys.
i think blogger ate my comment last night, so i'll try again -
ReplyDeleteone of the things i love about wcw's poems is how much life there is in them - how he celebrates it for what it is - which is why i love this one. it's exuberant but unadorned - a purity of expression. and i absolutely love how it begins in measured steps, and then from "Yet when I lift my dress" on you let the music rise up with the dance.
Webdesigning - Thanks for your visit!
ReplyDeletejoaquin - (Thanks for giving it another shot.)
You are so right about WCW's life. I was given a small book of his poems for Christmas, and I'm reading them slowly and over again so that I can really, really think and enjoy them. He finds so much in what is otherwise ordinary. I had forgotten how wonderful his writing is - just as you say exuberant but unadorned. So, thank you for saying that about this and for noticing the music within. On another note, isn't the John Singer Sargent just beautiful?
Thank you for your thoughtful comments. I always look forward to your insights and to hearing what you think about my writing.
Karen, I wish every poetry lover on earth had an old red wheelbarrow overflowing with flowers with William Carlos Williams' famous poem written on the side of it like mine:
ReplyDeleteThe Red Wheelbarrow
by William Carlos Williams
So much depends
upon
a red wheel
barrow
glazed with rain
water
beside the white
chickens.
That wheelbarrow is my spring project!
ReplyDeleteKaren, I gave myself the gift of Pablo Neruda's odes, and your dancer makes me think of my favorite lines: "La pantera/ pensando/ y palpitando..."
ReplyDeleteThe panther thinking its thoughts and throbbing.
You are the panther, thinking her thoughts and throbbing.
Chris
I'm embarrassed to admit I have never read him. I will be doing something about that soon.
ReplyDeleteStunning images and words and everything! Really.
Kat - I fell for him at age 17 and have loved him since. Here's one of my favorites from back then:
ReplyDeleteThis Is Just to Say
I have eaten
the plums
that were in
the icebox
and which
you were probably
saving
for breakfast
Forgive me
they were delicious
so sweet
and so cold
silken mists,and the secret dances of lovers. Haunting and real.
ReplyDeleteHappy new year to you lovely lady.)
Sarah.
I just noticed the poem above, yes I know this but didnt remember the name. It is great isnt it.)
Chris - What wonderful lines! I have to admit that I've read almost no Neruda. (I know, I know. Everyone raves about him, so I must - I will!) If those lines are any indication, I had better read him soon! Thanks, but more like the old cat in CATS, singing "Memories."
ReplyDeleteSarah - Hello! Back at home now? Thanks for the comments. Happy New Year to you, too, my dear!
This is a mesmerizing poem, Karen, both in its honesty and sensual energy. I, too, noticed the shift with "Yet when I lift my dress," so that by the end, I felt a dizzy sort of elation that rose through my body. Those questions marks naturally lead us up, up, up!
ReplyDeleteYour poems are always pure perfection in their rhythm, the way they roll off my inner tongue. The marriage to dance comes naturally. And I loved the haunting touch of reverence embedded in your lines. Beautiful!! :)
Sarah - Thanks for your comments. You are always much too generous in your praise. I hope to be worthy of such very kind comments some day - until then, I'll keep writing! I do appreciate your coming here when you can. I remember those busy, busy days when my children were small. T
ReplyDeleteSarah - Don't know what that "T" is all about! LOL
ReplyDeleteSplendid!
ReplyDelete