Reanimated Lavender Granola Switchblade Nun rides again.

Friday, January 21, 2011

Indian Days



What burns grows back.

The sky is always in motion.

Don't kiss the one with the wind in her blood.

Don't become devoted to her skin.



Watch the way she handles an egg.

Does she warm it first in her hand, as if it might surrender a sigh

Or a peacock?

When she kisses it beyond all saving

Against the rim of a pretty kiln-fired bowl,

Does she coax or crush?

Does it matter to the broken shell?



Still, if you kiss the one with pilfered turquoise on every finger,

If you become devoted to her scent, her deep Indian eyes, her hair--

Remember that bones can birth a second, more careful heart,

What burns grows back,

And the sky is always in motion.

_________

photograph by Metin Demiralay
at
Labels: ,

23 comments:

  1. HollandJanuary 21, 2011 at 12:34 AM

    Does it all matter during that first kiss?

    ReplyDelete
  2. hedgewitchJanuary 21, 2011 at 12:40 AM

    I don't use this word often as it's tiresomely thrown around like a sack of counterfeit bills, but this was brilliant, each stanza better than the last...kissing it beyond all saving, indeed.

    ReplyDelete
  3. signed...bkmJanuary 21, 2011 at 12:55 AM

    beautiful piece Shay, "remember that bones can birth a second"...love that image..and wind in her bones...lovely..bkm

    ReplyDelete
  4. Jenne' R. Andrews January 21, 2011 at 1:17 AM

    i'm really captivated by "watch the way she handles an egg..." gorgeous, and the "pilfered turquoise"-- yes. xxxj

    ReplyDelete
  5. HelenJanuary 21, 2011 at 1:24 AM

    .... you are unbelievable.

    ReplyDelete
  6. ShadowJanuary 21, 2011 at 3:11 AM

    yet it is 'the wind in her blood' that is the attraction in the first place...

    ReplyDelete
  7. SusannahJanuary 21, 2011 at 4:23 AM

    I love "Don't kiss the one with the wind in her blood."

    Wonderful. :-)

    ReplyDelete
  8. Tabitha BirdJanuary 21, 2011 at 5:43 AM

    Indeed. the skin IS always in motion :)
    Beautiful Shay.

    ReplyDelete
  9. LynnJanuary 21, 2011 at 8:32 AM

    The sky is always in motion. This was just beautiful.

    ReplyDelete
  10. UnknownJanuary 21, 2011 at 9:32 AM

    My favorite, telling line... the egg. Yes! Such attention to detail tells us a lot.

    ReplyDelete
  11. ellen abbottJanuary 21, 2011 at 9:57 AM

    sigh

    ReplyDelete
  12. KayJanuary 21, 2011 at 10:39 AM

    i want that blood....

    exotic and free...... sigh....

    ReplyDelete
  13. Ami MattisonJanuary 21, 2011 at 11:14 AM

    This is just. so. beautiful. It makes me weepy because I've kissed that girl with "deep Indian eyes" and "wind in her blood" so many times and now that she's crushed the broken shell of me, I don't believe you when you say "what burns grows back." Honestly, you must get outta my head.

    ReplyDelete
  14. DarylJanuary 21, 2011 at 11:27 AM

    the sky is always in motion ...

    makes me want to go out and take pix of the clouds ...

    ReplyDelete
  15. Jannie FunsterJanuary 21, 2011 at 6:26 PM

    Whoa.

    I'm a smash-the-egg-on-the-edge-of-the-counter top kind of gal. Should try a pretty kiln-fired bowl. See if I grow the wings I envision me in.

    pilfered turquoise, love that!

    xoxo

    ReplyDelete
  16. La Belette RougeJanuary 21, 2011 at 8:01 PM

    I have to tell you, just today my in-laws told me that they had left their back door open and when they came into the living room they found a peacock in their kitchen. I imagine that the peacock came in to raid the refrigerator and maybe make an omelette. I am not sure why am telling you this?
    I love the hopefulness of this poem. What grows back is always stronger than what was there before. If that isn't true then it should be.
    Thank you, lovely Tiger-friend!
    xxoo
    Weasel-friend

    ReplyDelete
  17. Maude LynnJanuary 21, 2011 at 9:28 PM

    Oh, Shay. This is exquisite.

    ReplyDelete
  18. Sherry Blue SkyJanuary 21, 2011 at 9:50 PM

    This is completely wonderful. I especially love the first and the last two lines. And "the wind in her blood" and the way she handles an egg. Now who would have thought of that and yet, it is really indicative of a person's nature. "remember that bones can birth a second, more careful, heart" is absolutely WONDERFUL.

    Wow. I am replete.

    ReplyDelete
  19. TALONJanuary 22, 2011 at 12:53 AM

    I agree with the wise and sage Mama Zen, Shay. Exquisite.

    ReplyDelete
  20. IleanaJanuary 22, 2011 at 9:10 PM

    Romantic, hopeful, playful...Chica, you've outdone yourself!

    ReplyDelete
  21. katrinJanuary 22, 2011 at 10:56 PM

    always in motion
    very beautiful fireblosom.

    ReplyDelete
  22. AnonymousJanuary 23, 2011 at 4:30 PM

    Stunning!

    ReplyDelete
  23. CloudiaJanuary 23, 2011 at 8:22 PM

    amazing first quat

    ReplyDelete

Spirit, what do you wish to tell us?

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)