pexels-photo-980859I desire things I’m not allowed to have

like a ball of twine will wish to be perfectly recalled

nothing looks as new after it is worn

I carry the burrs, twigs and meal of my journey

the caterpillar hollows my tunnel

the firefly lights the way ahead

she told me, the way people smell is how she knows

whom to trust, whom to join, whom to discard

her feet are hennaed, her eyelashes thick like horse hair

when she looks at me, the moon is insignificant in contrast

these sighs ride on a warm wind to far-flung places

we follow as addicts of destination

there is nothing about here keeping us

aside ourselves and the anchor of habit

in novels the heroines grow older and more hesitant

to join eclipsing tide and sail away

you have never had such palsy

you are brimming with courage like

a stout drink of rum and your lips taste

of cane sugar and nectar and hot-house flowers

it is the wakening of ice over water

turning from a mirror back into ocean

we dive from volcanic rocks and the sun

casts her web around us in perfect seclusion

just then, the sound of the world cannot be heard

it is only the whisker of your hair against my arms

as I pull you closer

your smile is a lantern lighting doubt

your fingers are paint brushes altering my color

from blue to silver and indivisible

as damosels who love

their joy bound to convention

we live twice as hard

to make up for those never permitted

left to hear the roar of their heart

in the emptied hollow of a seashell

on a beach somewhere

where you walk

footprints leading me

into transparent water

22 Replies to “Lantern girl”

  1. When there’s that one that brightens up the day and lifts you outta the funk, they’re the sun… more important the a tiresome breath.

    This is flawless, ma’am.

  2. I just adored the lines :

    we live twice as hard
    to make up for those never permitted
    left to hear the roar of their heart
    in the emptied hollow of a seashell
    left on a beach somewhere

    This just flowed like the tide on a glorious beach….. gorgeous.

Comments are closed.