We who with songs beguile your pilgrimage / And swear that Beauty lives though lilies die, / We Poets of the proud old lineage / Who sing to find your hearts, we know not why ... (James Elroy Flecker)

26.4.18

Wrong Men


Poetry Month, day 26

For A list with a twist at "imaginary garden with real toads" we are asked to create our own list of five items to write about. What I haven't done is name my – er – items, but I've listed them by other characteristics, and the title tells you the category.


Wrong Men

The ship's deck
cold under stars.
A hidden corner;
your warm hands.

Your father advised,
two years later:
Don't marry. You, 
sadly persuaded, obeyed.

            ***

Dazzling dancing man,
lover of jazz ...
we both were.
I still am.

Oh long ago
so briefly wed,
wild gambling man ...
our parting sobs.

            ***

You bent deliberately 
for that kiss.
I reached up, 
standing on tiptoe.

Lamplight and incense,
our mingled hair.
But the secrets
broke us later. 

            ***

Your face appeared
always sunlit, eyes
blue-green oceans
for my swimming –

yet you lived
in engulfing dark.
Until your escape 
forever into light.

            ***

Our lovely laughter!
How you delighted
my foolish heart,
sweet wicked boy.

Knew you fae – 
forgot those can't
attach humanly; also
I can't fly.

35 comments:

  1. and THAT is how it's done

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  2. So romantic, what a charming group,even though they didn’t work out the journey sounds like such fun. We always remember the one or ones who got away :-)

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    Replies
    1. Yes, they were very romantic experiences, and these memories are indelibly imprinted.

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  3. Loved it, and yes, some very delightful, are "wrong."

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    1. Then again, in another way none was wrong – they all gave me things of value and taught me much, and I grew through knowing them.

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  4. I wonder, are you being tooooooo kind?

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    Replies
    1. Time has healed the griefs and resentments, and put their flaws (and my own) in perspective.

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  5. This has so many wonderful edges to this: it's just perfect.

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  6. This is beautifully poignant. I believe we're meant to have these experiences in life in order to fully understand ourselves and grow. 💜

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  7. Five loved and lost. A story of charm and of heartbreak too.

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    Replies
    1. Yes, both. But able to be remembered now with more joy than sorrow.

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  8. Wow! Such a memory, so vivid it sparks some of my own!

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  9. Ah, five that got away! Brilliant and thanks for sharing!

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    1. There was a time I couldn't have, but the passage of time has eased the more painful aspects.

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  10. Some may be wrong but that is part of the journey until you find that one that is right.

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  11. Wrong is that what ends up wrong... I think not. Enjoy the journey don't look back :-)

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    Replies
    1. Looking back from this vantage point is actually quite sweet, enough time having passed.

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  12. Very interesting..a different life lived with each one. I've always believed in 'living a thousand life-times in one life'. A good write.

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    1. Ha ha, you're not another Scorpio are you? I always say I have lived many in one.

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  13. Five of them... well, you can't say it wasn't fun. Wonderful - loved the memory of each!

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    1. This is why I can't believe there is necessarily only one love in a life ... though it's much harder to find someone to be happily married with. Luckily for me, I did that too.

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  14. Luv the mood shape and form of your list poem Rosemary

    Much🌼love

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    Replies
    1. The first one set the pattern.

      And I discovered some months ago that three-word lines really work for me. There's a facebook group for poetry with three-word lines, where I learnt it; but they insist that each line be a complete, end-stopped statement. I find that I can do a lot more with a freer, more flowing version.

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  15. yet you lived
    in engulfing dark.
    Until your escape
    forever into light.

    The disappearing act enacted yet again! Lovely array of poetic excellence, Rosemary!

    Hank

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  16. This was a fun read, Rosemary. It reminds me of Mrs. Jim telling me that her widow and single friends are on a list to get me if something happens to her. All because I answer the phone for her and take notes and tell her about the call.
    ..

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    Replies
    1. Oh, Jim, it's her way of telling you that you're a treasure! And their way of telling her the same.

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  17. Even though we should not measure our lives according to the lovers who have passed through it, we do, and we do...

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  18. always lessons to be learned, once we can step back, with the wisdom of time, and know, and see the trees for the wonderful, or less than stellar in the moment canopy ~ which is why this works so well Rosemary.

    memories of time well spent and shared, equally addressed with the darker ones, and yet, in each their own way, would or could you be the person you now are?

    *nodding a satisfied smile > you get it*

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  19. What enticing memories! This is so well written.

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