Reanimated Lavender Granola Switchblade Nun rides again.

Friday, February 7, 2020

Confession

There is a man in the foam of a wave
and he watches for spirits
who can never be saved
I leave him a loaf on the edge of my skin
though he knows by the Moon
he can never come in.

The reeds are rotten with whispering wrecks
that cradle the sailors
who've broken their necks
in lonely dawn when the candle is gone
they sing to me softly
their odd borrowed song

To search for the man in the foam of a wave
who constantly calls me
by another love's name
and in his pocket he carries a spoon
to measure my sorrow
by the phase of the Moon.

Come Winter, come Summer, come judgement, come Fall,
come whispering spirits,
come nothing at all,
I'll take off my clothes and my garland of snow
and call him to come
where he already goes.
____

12 comments:

  1. Sigh. This is so lovely, in its wonderful rhythm and rhyme, and, as always, unexpected and delightful imagery. What a wonderful way to start my morning, reading you!

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  2. This is one of those poems of yours that I want to start quoting, and then realize I would just be repeating the entire thing. The rhyme is hypnotic, yet also extremely sharp and intelligent, never cliched, and the phrases paint a picture of impossible imagination that seems incredibly real. The last stanza is a spell, a love philter, a wisp of prayer, and a candle itself, while the central figure seen by the narrator is such a lively if separate ghost that he almost has more substance than she. I absolutely love it all but especially the first stanza, the spoon, the garland of snow, and the last line. Just excellent, on every level, and something to whisper in the dark for comfort, even if it is a rather chilly and salt-drenched one.

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  3. Every stanza an adventure in itself. I love them all and the mysterious and haunting feel it has. Oh and the rhyme is perfection....and like Joy said, it has an hypnotic yet brilliance to it. You never disappoint my amazing poet friend!!

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  4. You've conjured a reciprocal haunting enchantment here. So lovely and mesmerizing to read it again and again.

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  5. This is so soft and melodic, wistful and romantic
    ..... love it!

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  6. Touched by the longing in this beautifully rhymed poem.

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  7. This is beautiful and sea-bittersweet. Shay. You are a poet capable of delving surprise after surprise, truly a gift. - Brendan

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  8. Yes, very beautiful and haunting. Mysterious, it is open to interpretations. I read it as our planet – speaking about humanity, perhaps, or a section thereof, as the man 'in the foam of a wave'. Or mayhap it is the Ocean who speaks. It has the cut of truth anyway, beyond the solving of its riddles.

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  9. This is one of those poems I would like to be sung... the rhythm and flow are wonderful, subtle rhymes and consonance build music for me.

    The man from the sea makes me think of mythology and how the sea can build a force within any of us... maybe we have secret wishes to go back to the sea where once we were born (in a way)

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  10. Such a beautiful poem. Wistful and bittersweet. The rhymes are outstanding. The ocean and seas - Years ago I saw a movie, The Ghost and Mrs. Muir - about a woman who fell in love with the ghost of a sea captain. This puts me in mind of it - but the poem itself is more haunting, more bittersweet.

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  11. Lovely write with stark images, from the spoon to the reeds to those broken necks. A poem that demands one slow down and read again, taste the words. Haunting.

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  12. This is haunting and mystical. So many great lines. I had to read this twice. I think the sea calls many of us and that is why we are enchanted by the waves.

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Spirit, what do you wish to tell us?