"There is a lit candle inside every girl,"
and other such cornball stuff
swirled themselves up out of your Courvoisier
under a neon flamingo
who kindly took our confession,
pink all over
from the things she heard.
For you, love,
I burn bayberry, then sandalwood, then sweet apple.
For you,
though I am sober and you are gone,
I jealously guard this gorgeous little flame.
_____
For Real Toads mini-challenge.
When I was young, I had a platonic but marvelous connection with a man who was like my other half before he simply went off the grid and disappeared. Anywhere we went, if just one of us showed up, everybody asked where the other one was.
In the following video, the interpolated lyric is "Va Pensiero" (Chorus of the Hebrew Slaves) by Giuseppe Verdi (the composer, not the kitten!).
It does seem like a marvelous connection.
ReplyDeleteI loved the beginning. Well-penned. :-)
Magnificent and expands the heart, especially those gorgeous closing lines.
ReplyDeleteOh, I like this. I love the blushing flamingo.
ReplyDeleteI believe that these are the relationships which define us, and remi d us who we are once the partnership has disbanded.
ReplyDeleteYou set the scene with humour and a glimpse of nostalgia, but the final stanza is most telling about how we cherish memory.
Oh that beginning.. I love the pink flamingos and weaving original word-choices - but contrasted with the final line it brought me back searching for clues of that connection.
ReplyDeleteGosh not a word or meaning out of place. You WoW me!
ReplyDeleteALOHA from Honolulu
ComfortSpiral
<3
i hope, somewhere, he feels your love.
ReplyDeleteLove the blushing flamingo, forced to listen to so many blurted secrets, but also lucky to hear lines of music and magic like yours and your friend's. The ending is a valediction, and a song in itself.
ReplyDeleteBoth stanzas are gorgeous, Shay.
ReplyDeleteYou wouldn't consider writing love poems about a fat, frumpy straight woman who lives in St. Louis, would you? ;)
Once I looked up "Courvoisier" it turned into a delightful piece. :-)
ReplyDeleteZQ
Flamingos can make great spirit animals--a lovely and sweet tale. k.
ReplyDeleteI totally pictured this poem being inspired by one of those three layered candles. I love how they burn and change fragrances.
ReplyDeletetender and lovely. (just disappeared off the grid… that must have been very hard) Hugs. You do sentimental quite well.
ReplyDeleteAh loss not matter how it comes leaves a hole inside the heart. Beautifully penned emotion.
ReplyDeleteThis is an awesome poem. How sad that you lost each other. :( The memories are the best, though. You'll always keep him alive inside that unextinguishable wick.
ReplyDeleteThese are my faves:
"swirled themselves up out of your Courvoisier
under a neon flamingo
who kindly took our confession,
pink all over
from the things she heard"
"I burn bayberry, then sandalwood, then sweet apple.
For you" (especially the multiple meanings ... you're burning candles in his honor, but also, you yourself are a candle, still burning/yearning for him in your heart)
Really, those platonic best-friendships can turn out to be the best relationships ever. And you never "break up" (even if one disappears forever), so the relationship/flame never really dies.
Ha ha. I love Sioux's comment. :)
ReplyDeleteI jealously guard this gorgeous little flame.
ReplyDeleteThat is the most telling line of all and the sweetest.
it's sad when we lose people for no apparent reason... but, never to be forgotten.
ReplyDelete♥