poem: Satin Sheets and Tiger Claws

"and everything depends upon/ how near you sleep to me...

oh take this longing from my tongue/ all the lonely things my hands have done"- L. Cohen

 

 

 

and tonight, I drew you in shadows

     because the streets narrowed as the sun went down

   behind my back

         and I thought I saw something flicker

    in an empty lot where children play their own version of soccer

avoiding glass shards

               and dialogue.

 

we could make it if only reality

    were not always getting in the damned way of things.

 

but such is the way of shadows

    and children, and empty lots in hearts everywhere

      we sometimes play at children's games

knowing much more

      than dialogue was forever at stake,

           and feigning toughness as only children

finding their way in barrios devoid of affection

    could ever invent.

 

In our roughness we are tender-

    and this becomes our religion;

       Philosophy and morality tied into one breath

one sigh, a pushing in, a pulling out

      moments stolen recklessly of lives

          lived in limitations of streets while dreaming

of long walks on beaches and candlelit dinners

        and time for a gaze to coalesce

in spaces tended by the the caress of gentle winds, soft rains.

 

knowing that all we could get is the tempest-

   she would be here, she would be memorable,

        she would be achingly sweet

and deadly and divinely breathtaking

      and everything passionate

           two souls will ever, could ever... ask;

equal parts satin sheets and tiger claws;

    roses and predatory stalking

          through the streets where shadows play at sundown.

 

and she is ours if we want her.

 

sweet lilies nod in time

    and we think in cycles, in seasons, in dust

in the songs of warblers

       and the coming of rains;

shoe merchants hawk their wares and we walk on

   and fruit vendors divine our fortunes in seed patterns

and this is the way of us.

      We can and do only speak of today, this street

that striped ball in a forgotten field

       green grass strewn with broken glass... like them,

we punt that ball carefully around the cow grazing

               in the middle of all things.

 

if I had any courage left to ask

    it would be this...

        give me just one chance

to set aside barrio cynicism, trapped sparrows

         ashes and begging. Give me

one night, breath to breath, heart to heart

   let me feel your soul cry from its trapped space

into my open mouth, let me

   imagine just once that I am normal,

     that I could be yours, only-

          that I could be free in a house;

could never imagine waking up

     another single lonely damned dawn

on earth. Let me retract my claws,

        embrace you into the space between my breasts,

scented like lilies.

 

When the rains come, we can pretend

     they are the gentle kind that nurtures the span

of lives spent remembering how

      children can be so tough

            and so very unafraid when the sun goes down

after their game.

                 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Reviews

[Horizon K.]

Another fantastic one from you Marie, this one had so much longing for fulfillment beyond just physical passion, for a greater dialogue then what children have, for two bodies to connect on that deeper level, if only...
And as always I love the style you write your poems with, they always read like letters straight to the heart.
Horizon

[Marie Anzalone]

Thanks for your words, Horizon. I believe my own words come through that way because I have never learned the wisdom of holding anything back. Part of the reason I write is that I do speak straight to and from my own heart- there is too much there sometimes to hold back. I tried for several years... and it did neither myself nor anyone around me any good. You are right in target with this one. A deeper longing, connection... that one we all long for on some level if we are connected at all. Sometimes we are shown... unorthodox... opportunities to fill that longing. And then the fun really begins.

[Horizon K.]

Well I'm glad you don't hold back Marie, it's beautiful this way. I think if a poet wants the reader to feel something, then the heart must be exposed...

[Emily B]

it's so perfect, words after my own heart, i shall hold them close and celebrate the strength and the weakness

[Marie Anzalone]

yes, my freind, you understand those connections in words and certainties most could only spemnd most of their lives guessing the existence of

[Ken Simm.]

Sounds almost in parts like a contemporary Song of Solomon. The lace like intracacies, the subtle turn of phrase all combine to make an excellent love poem from an experienced heart.

[Marie Anzalone]

Thank you, Ken. Your words and insights are always appreciated on my page... I admit I was actually thinking of your mistle thrush, that sense you gave the reader, as I was trying to cobble my images together for this one.

[Ken Simm.]

I am honoured.

[Georgia Gypsy]

So much to absorb in this, I am in awe that so many have visited, yet only 1 review so far?
There is a vast amount of symbolizm to me, along with some raw emotions still sorting themselves out...it made me smile and yet sad in turns.

xxGG

[Marie Anzalone]

Ah dear Gypsy, I find that I recive very few reviews relative to reads on most of my work. I often wonder that I am just missing the mark of being able to speak to an audience at all. This one surprised me... I am getting a much higher ratio than normal. It got to me in the past... now I try to jst be thankful that some people are willing to take the time. Since I made the decision to com e down here, thoughts are swirling faster and faster and I cannot always keep up with the explosions. I am hoping to be able to harness this energy soon because right now it wears me out every day. Peace be with you, and I do so appreciate your stopping by.

[.]

seems ever so familiar...

well done, Marie

[Marie Anzalone]

thank you for stopping by, pronoun. I decided to check out some of your work to see what you meant by "familiar" and was truly impressed with what I saw. On the road today but will get back soon.