a golden-eyed girl apart from the others.
In her hours alone, she talked to the sky and the sky told her:
"Gather yourself, girl. Be still. You will be filled as I am filled."
That was when she noticed the first feather; the first spot.
She fought the strangeness, then invited it bone-deep to take hold.
Her lovers have woken with their arms around a creature
Both beautiful and Other, hidden just behind her kiss.
In her sleep, the messengers come; Joan and Emily on fire.
Don't think she is mad. She is burdened and she is blessed.
Woman, to love her is to love sharpness;
To love her is to fall together down a thousand feet and more.
Still, she is just a girl. She holds more than she was meant to,
and when she shivers, she will seek your arms, her second skin.
She will always be different; cat and bird together--
But if she makes herself yours, she will come to you today and forever,
bearing gifts.
_______
"Oh, I thought you said 'in 25 LINES or less'--I'm sorry."
ReplyDeleteI love the idea of a cat and bird combined. And the fact that you put the last line all by itself.
So, Shay, you wrote this before 5 this morning? Go back to sleep--leave a bit of creativity for the rest of us. ;)
the first feather, the first spot. You animal, you! :)
ReplyDeleteI like the bone-deep seep of this.
xo
this may take many readings for me to get past the images into the words
ReplyDeleteWhen asked to mention some of our fave poets' motifs (over a real toads) I may have picked you and your big cats... I see I was spot on.
ReplyDeleteI thought this the pivotal line:
Don't think she is mad. She is burdened and she is blessed.
Some women are not as easy to live with us others - as one of the former, I can relate to the notion of being both burdened and blessed at the same time by a rigorous personality.
This is just incredibly beautiful. Thank you, Shay.
ReplyDeleteI love the discovery of the unique, and the embrace of it, the desire to share it.
ReplyDeleteLovely shay
Rick
I love the concept of 'cat and bird together.' You seem to have the tenacity of a cat, but the ability to soar like a bird! Enjoyed this.
ReplyDelete"Still, she is just a girl. She holds more than she was meant to..."
ReplyDeleteWell, that for me is profound. Inside each of us, don't we all feel our "little" selves? And if we don't, then we have lost something very special.
"In her sleep, the messengers come; Joan and Emily on fire.
ReplyDeleteDon't think she is mad. She is burdened and she is blessed."
O pierce my heart with your arrows of self truth, skin, fur, feather. You are my new GMH:
"I CAUGHT this morning morning’s minion, king-
dom of daylight’s dauphin, dapple-dawn-drawn Falcon, in his riding
Of the rolling level underneath him steady air, and striding
High there, how he rung upon the rein of a wimpling wing
In his ecstasy! . . ."
This is my favorite line: "to love her is to love sharpness" ... In fact, you could take this line and add a few more words to write a second poem meeting MZs criterion (25 words or fewer).
ReplyDeleteThis is like saying I love being stabbed. I like to press my finger against the tip of a knife, maybe even hard enough to draw a few drops of blood. But at least I feel an intensity that otherwise does not exist.
Also, there is the sharpness of wit and intellect.
I also like all that is implied by the final line, set apart.
Spectacular. I love "a creature both beautiful and Other"......"she is burdened and she is blessed".......your closing lines are perfect and so true. Sigh. Loved this poem.
ReplyDeleteAll right? No. Wonderful. Yes. I love the complex nature of your characters. They always seem to jump off the page and demand attention.
ReplyDeleteI like this a lot. There is a mix of power, independence, and vulnerability that is a perfect blend for "woman."
ReplyDeleteNo one could ever mistake this for anything but one of your poems, Shay- If this was read to me in a disguised voice, with me blindfolded in a dark room, I would know it for yours. And also, of course, for you. Sharpness enough to love, from the opening lines welcome from the sky, to the final complexity of blent predator and prey, wing and fur, which is so much the gift borne, fine fine writing.
ReplyDeleteThe lines "creature Both beautiful and bold" and "she is burdened and she is blessed" are magnificent. A wonderful evocative set of images, too fine to be limited to 25 words.
ReplyDelete"the final complexity of blent predator and prey" ... What an excellent observation, Hedge.
ReplyDeleteVivid portrait - those golden eyes are always a sign! k.
ReplyDeleteWonderful poem!
ReplyDeleteThis is definitely chock full of power images! The cat, the bird, Joan, Emily, madness....Your poems are instantly recognizable. You have a real voice, and it's one of my most favorite! (and the fact that did this before I even finished my first cup of coffee is just obscene!)
ReplyDeleteI dunno...that cat's looking at me like I'm its next meal.
ReplyDeleteTo thine own self be true ... the essence of your poetry, you.
ReplyDeleteOh, your opening and this:
ReplyDelete"and when she shivers, she will seek your arms, her second skin."
Excellently done in true Shay form!!!
I did the same thing here at nearly one in the morning though...linked it on a rewrite...
I thought of you for the bonus round... gypsies and railroad tracks, (not sure why railroad tracks), were the first images in my mind but there are many that you've written that stick to the bones! :)
That's pretty cool. :)
ReplyDelete'You will be filled as I am filled'-
ReplyDeleteThanks nice piece!
that is what I have been needing, Particularly yesterday...and I got it..
and I usually get it; although I really had to empty out to fill up this time!
If you can write like this at 6am in the morning, everything should be forgiven.
ReplyDeleteThere was to love, like the lines, "She is burdened and she is blessed." "Both beautiful and Other..." "She will always be different: cat and bird together..."
I really liked that you put such total opposites together in this poem. I also liked the "bearing gifts." sitting by itself.
It was good read. Thank you:~)
i too love the combination of cat and bird ~ she must be full of a very strong magic to have them co-exist within her one body... her gifts must be magical as well.
ReplyDeletetruly a Shay/Fireblossom gorgeous creation!
{{{meow mix? HA!}}}
♥
Lovely.
ReplyDelete