Friday, May 29, 2009

dust

I.

summer found me grateful that the river was stronger than me, it quelled my fear and allowed me not to speak:

adrift on my back for the moment of peace it could bring me

i found seventeen to be more acidic than sweet. now i noticed every snakeskin curling on the highway, the wheeling vultures; my heart felt the pain that the prey feels, the signed

sealed, delivered, and doomed

torn to shreds in clear view and borne away by claws, i was the dirt and gravel road beneath your old trucks' tires

the dust on your dashboard, the dust on your mirrors

my surprise,
that first love should feel like death indeed

it certainly felt like death to me




II.


i would have been his wife if i had been so lucky; more likely i would have been his whore:
sam cooke's paramour

it seems a harmless dream til the needle drops
and the crackling and dust give way to him:

a voice known to bear powers incomparable, as persuasive as the sliest teenage lover, sweet and understanding, only he promises

to soothe my soul
if it takes all night long

time doesn't mean much to him; he never wants to sleep
and there is nowhere he would rather be

conjured from dust to stir up the coals in my chest
some smoke then finally a flickering orange light

only those conjured by dust can do it
and sometimes
it takes all night long





III.


a silly girl would play with her hands in the dust, but a wise girl keeps hers clean
and i know what sort of girl i endeavor to be

a heavy gaze from blue eyes cannot move me
i know that behind it lies nothing but ash and nicotine
i know now how it feels to be impossible to please

and i am not unscathed
but who could be

on the table beneath thin fingers only dust
from behind teeth only words
made of dust

i feel so old, my soul sifting away
borne by the wind, dust

3 comments:

Variable said...

This is beautiful! Your writing just keeps getting better and better. But what happened to all the other posts you posted the other day, I don't see them here.

Those whispers
the sound of a salty breeze
dreaming side by side in a room with pine walls,
I hang on tight
force my eyes to stay wide
because in the darkness you disappear
and I become lonely-
alone in a solitary slumber
I need you next to me always,
I hang on tight,
your sleeve is ripping
but I need you to stop myself from sinking,
from sloshing in self doubt.
You are the rock I need
the self reflection I choose to wear,
I burden you with this great weight
and you tire and disappear

Variable said...

I always loved you,
sometimes I ignored your charm
thought I could forget what you meant to me,
but your presence lurked everywhere
in the bathroom mirror,
out the car window,
felt a wisp on my cheek,
thought of your breath beneath the sheets
mourning, the pace is slow and unforgiving

Your beautiful wavy hair
and that smile, so slow and delicate
I see you though you can't see me
I watch you flee,
and I don't blame you.

A.H. said...

'...your presence lurked everywhere
in the bathroom mirror,
out the car window,
felt a wisp on my cheek'

beautiful.


in fact it inspires me to post a poem i didn't think i would but your writing just inspired me to try to make it better...

you're a beautiful poet

lets collab haha

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