the steampunk librarian of Born-to-Lose Street
writing down alternate endings on the backs of envelopes,
the backs of surrogate lovers, the flip side of receipts...
Here's the door of my bedroom, six inches off the floor,
all my darlings trip out and fall like leaves.
Orange is the color that us Irish women love, it goes with green
and so we spend eternities dropping our flame-hair from the high branches of trees.
I never said I was stable,
or nice,
or worth the trouble,
all I said was you would get something rare.
Enough bullshit. I've trimmed my lips back with a peeler from a kitchen drawer,
until now I can only speak truth and all my old popularity is gone.
I'm the futuristic poet chick of By-Invitation-Only Twilight Bower,
and my dreams are in tones of wild and wood: berry-red, leaf-jade, rust and fawn.
I've been through men,
been through women,
been through solitude and I like that best;
But when I saw the way the light landed soft upon your cheek,
I fissured, I trembled in spite of myself, and thought, "Could there yet be
a fire so patient as to unwind itself at last,
late-born (poor fool), late-kept and late-blessed?"
______
For Kerry's Dylan challenge at Real Toads. I was inspired by the song "I Want You."
This is magnificent.
ReplyDeleteWhat a beautiful title.
These are my favorite lines/sections:
"the steampunk librarian of Born-to-Lose Street
writing down alternate endings on the backs of envelopes,
the backs of surrogate lovers, the flip side of receipts"
"Here's the door of my bedroom, six inches off the floor"
"I never said I was stable,
or nice,
or worth the trouble,
all I said was you would get something rare."
"I've trimmed my lips back with a peeler from a kitchen drawer"
"my dreams are in tones of wild and wood: berry-red, leaf-jade, rust and fawn" ... This is incredible.
"I've been through men,
been through women,
been through solitude and I like that best"
So, yeah. Pretty much the whole poem. ;)
Love it! Too many lines to pick a favorite, but I do like "all my darlings trip out and fall like leaves." Awesome as always!
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely beautiful - every word gleams with the intensity of the poet's passion and self-awareness.
ReplyDeleteI love these lines best of all.. they made me think of my daughter, her Irish blood and flame-coloured hair.. and I remember when I used to colour my own hair red (back in the day).
Orange is the color that us Irish women love, it goes with green
and so we spend eternities dropping our flame-hair from the high branches of trees.
As always, exceptional, Shay--rich, and as deeply cadenced as a song that Dylan himself might envy--your use of color and of image is stunning, and I am taken especially with the closing lines, which bring the narrator of dreams within us into sharp focus. In a place where all softness must be peeled away, where would we be without our dreams?
ReplyDeleteIntense passions sieve through: self, outright-ness and enclosure. Nice
ReplyDeletemuch love...
A tangled up in blue poem for me, but with so much wonderful detail and color--I agree with Kerry's favorite lines--one feels one sees almost a chagall up in the trees there. (only he's not Irish.) Thanks. k
ReplyDeleteOh, wow. When you loose your pen, we are slayed. This is simply stellar.
ReplyDeleteI THOUGHT the 3-line stanza was my favorite... until I read the last four lines.
ReplyDeleteI love the last seven lines the best (although the potato peeler bit is brilliant as well).
Well that's the love poem to end 'em all - until you write another. Absolutely the equal of Dylan.
ReplyDeleteSo brilliant and yet so down to earth. How she winds it in and out and around to the precious denoument
ReplyDeleteYes, I believe that there could be a fire so patient!
ReplyDeleteThis is what destiny brings...
ReplyDelete"I've been through men,
been through women,
been through solitude and I like that best"
As it happens all again...
what a wonderful journey you've captured/synopsised with Autumn colors. much of my time is spent in solitude which provides me the time to witness life. the rest of the time i live.
ReplyDeletegracias for sharing such wonderful writing
This is beautiful, I have goosebumps reading it :-) not enough positive adjectives to describe this special poem,,
ReplyDeleteOh my. Top form. Humbling to us lesser poets
ReplyDeleteI could quote this whole thing as a favorite line. Really gorgeous. It sings.
ReplyDeleteWowza!
ReplyDeleteThis is awesome, Shay - I thought I had commented before - I remember it well (sometimes I'm looking at blogs at work and someone interrupts me.) :)
ReplyDeleteThat's my Shay-d-Lady. You're the Queen of such scenes and I revel in your longing and pathos. La la la Mosk
ReplyDeletemesmerized by your enchanting garden of words .
ReplyDeleteabsolutely beautiful