Reanimated Lavender Granola Switchblade Nun rides again.

Thursday, July 15, 2010

Fire

I dreamed that I was drunk and 23--

You were there with me,

Wearing old jeans and a ponytail.



We had wrecked the fucking car--

Driven it into a tree, far down a side road.

You had said, "Trust me, my plans never fail."



We walked away

As the forest went up;

Your smooth tanned arms glowed with red and yellow

And I had no idea what to say.



You turned around, lazy and high,

And I

Stumbled into your sure embrace.

I was bleeding.

You said, "Aw, sugar," in a voice both sweet and mocking,

And tenderly kissed my face.



The woods were on fire,

All we had left was whiskey,

And I knew my love was hopeless, and that I'd never see you again.

It burned, you know.

All of it.

It burned going down.

_________

done in response to prompt  magpie 23

35 comments:

  1. This is a truly gorgeous piece, Shay.

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  2. Yes, a good drink does burn going down.

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  3. Oh Shay, that was stunning! Great job.

    I'm back from vacation and off to catch up on your posts.

    Cheers,
    jj

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  4. Brilliant. Absolutely brilliant. Write on, girl!!

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  5. Holey moley- great images...keep on writing!

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  6. What a fantastic Magpie, Shay.

    You breath such life into your poetry.

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  7. Raw, deep, emotional and so well written.

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  8. The fires of attraction and liqour - both demand hang-overs! A great piece of writing!

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  9. what was it I said yesterday? I meant that today.

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  10. Wow! You set the forest on fire with that one..need more than an extinguisher....Great piece...bkm

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  11. Wow, this one was truly heavy duty but I loved the bittersweetness of it, I get that and have those in my life and out of my life I still have those bittersweet feelings all over the place!!!!

    xoxoxox G

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  12. "The woods were on fire
    All we had was whiskey."

    Been there, done that. It burns.

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  13. a splendid piece
    wonderful images
    so well written it makes one gasp

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  14. All the different levels of heat you have represented in your piece, this is truly an amazing Magpie! :-)

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  15. Wow, really love your poetry here, really strong voice, great images, relatable...everything we need in poetry today!

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  16. Brilliant, simply brilliant!

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  17. This is my fave so far. It's manner and images captivated me. My fave kind of writing.....!

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  18. Raw and spellbinding piece - a perfect Magpie!

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  19. Dear Fireblossom,

    Sorry you could not log on to my comment box - and thank you for the lovely thought. What a world the Magpie is.

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  20. yes... yes it does/did...

    a burning sensation we love to hate....

    absolutely great!

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  21. It burns of awesomeness, and reeks of chill and dark!!
    So vivid and bold is the imagery, that there is nothing left for me to imagine here!
    Just plain terrific!

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  22. excellent take,
    I am in instantly with the power of your words.

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  23. This is the third oldie I've read, and I'm ready to just go hide for the rest of the afternoon now, after breaking all my pens and tossing my keyboard out the window. Last lines here rule.

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  24. Still burns, doesn't it Shay? All the many years later, but oh, those golden moments shine too.

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  25. Like Hedge says, poetry may be cheaper but rarely does it burn like this going down. But something tells me it wasn't just the booze. Thanks for uncorking this vintage stuff.

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  26. Good to see this blasting from the past--bright, brief, bitter and burning as it is, it's real, and it has the bite of truth. Moments like this are like those shadows on buildings burned into the brick by nuclear blast. You can paint over them, but you never lose them.

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  27. I can't put it better than Hedge did.

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