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Open Poetry #49
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bel1e
Senior Member
since 2006-07-24
Posts 1631


0 posted 2014-08-05 02:11 PM



I hold my faith in my hands
and worship the first thing I feel.

Steady, clip the straps that hold the sweetgum straight against the stake.
See how it bows only to drop seed to fertile earth.

The Lordgod Bird* cocks her tail,
watches me from her canopy perch, musing,
for every lovesong there is a battered dove skeleton rotting in the eaves, it's true.

Prometheus said as much, hung from his rungs of fire,
my legacy is penance
a small blister jewel on my thumb,

you see, my motives are mud dark, made of licorice, made of larkspur and longing,
mixed in an anatomy of pastels and crimson,

formed among the brightness of angels,
life a vague jazz that may or may not take hold,
soft shades of sand
where darkness falls inside itself.

Doves hardworn by the desert saltpan have already vanished.

By evening, I hide my curse, spread my fingers,
let thin rawhides fly;
morning will find them bunting for a prickly nest.

Tiny scars cross the backs of my hands, their fretwork remembers years long buried.

I trace them in the dusk of memory.

I open my palms,
gods that never answered drift through the cracks,
ashes on a scant breeze.

Behind me, the Lordgod Bird* trundles her nest. Quiet.
The dead are tolling their bells.

*Once there were many here, crowded together on this little hub. One by one they unhooked to tryst with wind serpents, leaving only a pale nub to mark the place they held...how they fill me with stars.


                             

[This message has been edited by bel1e (08-05-2014 04:59 PM).]

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JerryPat2
Member Laureate
since 2011-02-06
Posts 16975
South Louisiana
1 posted 2014-08-05 02:38 PM


Such a loving mix of memory and longing withing the passages of this wonderful, as always, penning of yours, Baby Girl. Was captivated by the Lordgod Bird and the tiny scars you wear so proudly. There are so many passages that are worthwhile to save, but I picked out this one because I empathize.
quote:
you see, my motives are mud dark, made of licorice, made of larkspur and longing,

Loved this poem . . .


~*~ Tell the truth, but tell it slant.--Emily Dickimsom ~*~

bel1e
Senior Member
since 2006-07-24
Posts 1631

2 posted 2014-08-05 02:45 PM


Thanks so much, Jerry~*~*
...the scars sometimes still itch...thanks for taking a peek inside!

XOXO

              

secondhanddreampoet
Member Ascendant
since 2006-11-07
Posts 6394
a 'Universalist' !
3 posted 2014-08-05 09:22 PM


grand-fine 'write' ...

I'm particularly fond of that
"anatomy of pastels and crimson"

It never ceases to amaze me how vastly different
the 'writing styles' are of the poets who grace the
fine blue sands of "P.I.P-land" by the cyber-sea with
their sublime 'word-painted' tapestries ! ...

bel1e
Senior Member
since 2006-07-24
Posts 1631

4 posted 2014-08-06 07:29 AM


Thank you, dreampoet!

PIP is indeed a wonderful venue for sharing and nurturing our poetry~*~*

XOXO

              

Michael
Moderator
Member Rara Avis
since 1999-08-13
Posts 7666
California
5 posted 2014-08-07 10:00 PM


Wow... the first two lines just suck you in, then you're caught in the whirlpool or darkness and conflicted imagery.
quote:
my legacy is penance
The dead are tolling their bells

Those two lines speak straight to the soul.  I love most everything you write, but this one stands a notch above, imho.  Kudos.


Michael

bel1e
Senior Member
since 2006-07-24
Posts 1631

6 posted 2014-08-08 06:19 AM


Thanks so much, Michael! I am so pleased you found something in this that speaks to you...

~love & light~

              

jwesley
Member Rara Avis
since 2000-04-30
Posts 7563
Spring, Texas
7 posted 2014-08-08 11:25 AM


yep, scars always seem to itch, my friend, especially at the most inopportune times, when one really needs them to forget one's existence.

as usual ... great piece.

jimmy

bel1e
Senior Member
since 2006-07-24
Posts 1631

8 posted 2014-08-08 11:41 AM


Thanks Jimmy~*~*~

              

BluesSerenade
Member Patricius
since 2001-10-23
Posts 10549
By the Seaside
9 posted 2014-08-10 02:44 PM


The beauty of your words is a fine and intricate weave.
You are a joy to read baby bella.

bel1e
Senior Member
since 2006-07-24
Posts 1631

10 posted 2014-08-11 06:04 AM


Thank you, Blue ~*~

Xoxo

              

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