Success!

My metered poetry project seems to be paying off, and more quickly than I'd expected. I had some lines knocking aorund in my head in the shower last night that just wouldn't go away until I wrote them down. Looking at them today, they're actually not half bad. The part that thrills me, though, is how it wasn't just easy to write something - it was imperative. It's been several years since I really felt that way, that these ideas were inside me and wouldn't be still until I had put them on paper. I've been telling myself for years that it was just a dry spell, and the longer it went on the less I believed that.

I've stitched them together a bit, and though this is by no means a completed work, I'm so excited by this that I can't help but share with anyone who will listen (which includes you, captive virtual audience).


address

I am
Head and heart tied tail-to-tail
swimming circles in brackish water
Quickly lost to apprehension
missing the words to bring you closer
Siren in a desert land
and desperate for a sailor

(In this piece, I play both damsel
and dragon – stop me
if you’ve heard this one.)


I am
Heart and head tied tail-to-tail
fighting for direction,
sinking fast
Easy prey for a knowing smile
and hawk-bright eyes with sober intent
Holding on with both hands tight
to pleasures I know weren’t meant to last.

(I woke without an ounce of guilt,
only the weight of his hand on my breast.)