of the vast good-bye --
indigo adaptation of night,
stealing the sun
to roar like a daisy
across the zig-zag sky --
Phaeton gone awry,
burning, stout-stemmed sapling,
thorn in the story of grasses:
sketch your tawdry meadow.
Twist your tawny, ivied arms;
shun the cloistered shadows.
Burn the skies with your strong fire.
Leave me blind and reeling.
Leave me smelling sulphur in the night.
Sometimes, even I don't know where they come from! (And, yes, I know I ended that sentence with a preposition and began this one with "and.")
I saw the Pre-Raphaelites at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC, this week; Imaginary Gardens with Real Toads suggested some of these botanical words and phrases, and Poets United asked that we write about "woman" for International Women's Day. It all came together as this! Voila! Who knows?
Visiting from Poets United. This is beautiful -- The poem really has a 'classic' sound to it, goes well with the classic painting.
ReplyDeleteI love the way you have woven the words into a portrait of womanhood, and the Rossetti painting of Lilith is an amazing accompaniment.
ReplyDeleteThis is a beautiful piece, traditional and vivid.
ReplyDeletei like the use of "lady" as your first word, and then how you let her blossom from there into something whimsical. i just adore those opening lines, and "burn the skies with your strong fire." the piece is feminine but not dainty. x
ReplyDeleteOh, this is gorgeous. Fantastic "use" of the words, though they are so seamless here.
ReplyDeleteI especially love:
"Twist your tawny, ivied arms;
shun the cloistered shadows"
There is just so much beautiful language here. Excellent.
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whimsygizmo.wordpress.com
Strong voice here ~ I specially like these lines:
ReplyDeleteBurn the skies with your strong fire.
Leave me blind and reeling.
Leave me smelling sulphur in the night.
Your use of botanical references and environmental images give this piece a lot of power. A real "earth mother" sort of feel. Very well written.
ReplyDeleteKaren, your lady 'blazed' new frontiers with the stolen sun. She may have done all this in her mind as she caressed her tresses?
ReplyDeleteOf all the National Museums in D.C, I liked the National Gallery of Art the best. Followed by the National Museum of Science.
Thank you for peeking in on my clandestine young lovers.
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I like this, especially the last three lines. There is something haunting about "Leave me smelling sulphur in the night." Great portrait in words.
ReplyDelete