Romeo, gosh, I'm sorry how things turned out,
and sorry I didn't die after all like you thought.
I'm old now, you wouldn't look twice at me
but I miss you still, even so, most definitely.
You could find me tonight across from a cornfield
working the St. Lucy's Fall Festival and how would you feel
about that, babe? I wear a lumpy old overcoat
and sell tickets to teenagers so in love they almost float.
I get feeling sentimental and sad about everything
remembering how you said you were the All-Powerful Weather King
and could make the sun come out if I wished it,
or kiss me and kiss me again if I told you I missed it.
My goodness, Romeo, you don't know how often I still think of you,
like when I saw some crestfallen kid with wild hair walking through
the festival like he had something on his mind
and he seemed lonesome, like you, and quiet and kind.
It's almost midnight and the lights are going dim
so I've got to pack up and go home alone again.
I wish so hard that things had turned out different
and I'd say, "Romeo, oh Romeo," and you'd know what I meant.
_______
Music: Tom Waits "Blue Valentines"
Terrific conceit! Juliet didn't die and sells tickets at the carney in old age.
ReplyDelete"teenagers so in love they almost float" is wonderful and so much brings us back to the Shakespeare.
The ending is perfect, love and old longing still there but running on fumes.
I love the poem. And qbit's comment! Smiles.
ReplyDeleteDear Shay,
ReplyDeleteThe concrete details spell out the persona's state of mind plainly and painstakingly. All to such good effect. Like this one: the "lumpy old overcoat" to match the heavy mantle of loneliness and sadness that weighs her down. You've chosen a season and a scene that gives texture to her memory: autumn and a festive occasion, when loss is made all the sharper by the presence of the young couples in love. What a brilliant piece of poetry and what a pleasure to read.
~ Dora
You have nailed the mindset of Juliet, and it's both funny and heart-breaking, very real and of course, laced with total fantasy which only serves to make it sweeter and sadder. We all have a home on the midway sometimes.
ReplyDeleteOhhhhh, I love this so much, it's so bittersweet and heartrending. I love Juliet's story, what she's doing now, how she's haunted by him.
ReplyDeleteThis whole stanza is just divine:
"My goodness, Romeo, you don't know how often I still think of you,
like when I saw some crestfallen kid with wild hair walking through
the festival like he had something on his mind
and he seemed lonesome, like you, and quiet and kind."
But I adore the whole thing :-)
I think you have read the mind of Juliet if she lived to tell the tale wonderfully Shay. This feels both full of a sad regret and a relief or maybe acceptance. I especially love the line of the teenagers in love they almost float. You always use imagery in a way that makes your poetry truly 3d. Love this my friend!
ReplyDelete