on light entire, the faultless cut is fed;
Your bride, intact, will give her sweet pale hand
that clasped those lilies cool enough for dead.
Give me the fortunate interstitial defect--
the flaw that splits refraction thread by thread;
My damaged, love-bitten throat commands your gaze, dear,
when I wear my black diamond choker, or the red.
_______
Ah, the darkly twisted ending. Candy for the mind!
ReplyDeleteI can't stop grinning over this one. It's awesome, of course. :) Dare I list favorites when every word must be included?
ReplyDeleteOn its own, this speaks to me: "Perfection manifests colorless"; within the poem, this is a bad thing ... a contrast to your reds. She is plain, virginal, and cold. And you are the opposite. But taking the line on its own, perhaps perfection doesn't have to scream or paint. Maybe it's so perfect you can't even see it. I'm just enjoying pondering its solitary profundity.
But I also really love the sound of all these:
"the faultless cut is fed"
"Give me the fortunate interstitial defect"
"My damaged, love-bitten throat commands your gaze"
Those heels look like they could really hurt someone. And likewise the chokers, for that matter.
Love it! So glad you wrote this.
Love it! Love how the faultless cut feeds the light and how the throat is described as love-bitten and damaged. A treasure for sure, this one is- in black or red or colorless perfection?
ReplyDeleteThe build-up here is hot as a wildfire, but inexorable as the glaciation of an Ice Age--second stanza is especially strong, and the close is more than its equal.
ReplyDeleteWonderful, especially the closing couplet.
ReplyDeleteAmazing, and cool too. 'interstitial' - new word for me. :-)
ReplyDeleteThat ending is to die for!
ReplyDeleteWhat you do with color here, Shay, is so effective...it flashes behind the mind's eye as one reads. Sharp images and intense sensual play in your words...I love your indirect direct approach. :)
ReplyDeletevery much enjoyed my friend!! ♥