Sunday, January 3, 2010

Danse Carlos


















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.


30 comments:

  1. "Can you see me dance
    When 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

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  2. 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

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  3. Karen, 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.)

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  4. And now you have offered us a love poem. You respond to requests. :D

    Love becomes more complex when youth departs.

    There is one thing that seems to be required, that one forget oneself.

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  5. as if the speaker were dancing and/or acting in a slightly (?) seducing manner.
    great choice of photo.

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  6. 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.

    But, 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.

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  7. Karen
    This is beyond wonderful for me..a bit of magic on a dreary day
    I claim the feeling
    Well done
    Linda

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  8. 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.

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  9. Kay - Thank you!

    Kelvin - 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.

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  10. The words resound to a hidden rythm of the dance, bewitching.

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  11. Beautiful! 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. :)

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  12. Fantastic. I love that the poem ends with the two words "strong will." Lovely rhythm. You had me dancing right along with you.

    I 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!

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  13. Willow -I've yet to find a John Singer Sargent that I didn't love - or a WCW, for that matter! Thanks!

    jinksy - 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!

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  14. Hi,
    I am not Expert in language .But i saw ur prifile.u said one like"I am mother,daughter,sister," enough to know you.


    plexasys.

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  15. i think blogger ate my comment last night, so i'll try again -

    one 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.

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  16. Webdesigning - Thanks for your visit!

    joaquin - (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.

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  17. 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:

    The Red Wheelbarrow
    by William Carlos Williams

    So much depends
    upon
    a red wheel
    barrow
    glazed with rain
    water
    beside the white
    chickens.

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  18. That wheelbarrow is my spring project!

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  19. Karen, 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..."
    The panther thinking its thoughts and throbbing.
    You are the panther, thinking her thoughts and throbbing.
    Chris

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  20. I'm embarrassed to admit I have never read him. I will be doing something about that soon.

    Stunning images and words and everything! Really.

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  21. Kat - I fell for him at age 17 and have loved him since. Here's one of my favorites from back then:

    This 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

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  22. silken mists,and the secret dances of lovers. Haunting and real.

    Happy 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.)

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  23. 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."

    Sarah - Hello! Back at home now? Thanks for the comments. Happy New Year to you, too, my dear!

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  24. 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!

    Your 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!! :)

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  25. 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

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  26. Sarah - Don't know what that "T" is all about! LOL

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