i draw in one rubied ankle,
she reminds me of the cherries
that i had picked from the trees in summer
where my knees were skinned by gravel
and my shin stained green as
grass.i take in the ivory tusk of my lower left rib
which made my torso taut as a held breath —
when my child throat was yellow and blessedly buttercupped,
dreamt up, buoyed as a sunny hello:the white linens, crystal bowls
and raspberry fingertips, my mouth
lolled by a lolly which was red red redrecall : the rose and tomato vine scent of the nape
knelt over rocks and stones, the yellow black
of a salamander, the warmth of the lavender
rising by the washing line. you made me feelfine again — a moment — but their three faces
came across as clouds — blurred like ripples in the water —
i trailed over what colour their nails had been painted —
what sounds their mouths created — one tongue doleful
as mine and the second mute — the third even more faceless
than her three sisters were.they collapsed onto the bed with me, clambered, clawed
with nails long yet bitten. did they lie supine or prone,
keeping their faces hidden (and mine too) in your pillow --
my love : were we all pretty as a picture
when we turned our gaze and saw you hollow?(06/02/2018)
YOU ARE READING
Have you seen the Lost Boys?
Poetryharking back to an earlier poem of mine: poor wendy -- all the heroines get left behind. but she was a darling after all. yes, i very much have tears in my eyes. and it shall be hard to see, and sometimes i won't want to, but i will go on looking an...