Photography by Brooke Shaden
The streets are empty of cars & people
Yet the smell of gasoline is lethal
Bombs are coming, war is crossing a bridge
Pressing each day to tight corners. Pistol
Shots ring with red sirens in perfect pitch.
But wait, don't march outside! I am bewitched
with flames in your eyes. Set aside your knives,
your acid chemicals. I am no witch
With a secret room full of honey & chives
I have only this nightfall to survive
The sky will be black ash, a toxic glove
Let's not waste time with apologies!
Tear these pages clothing my skin ice tough
Kiss me deep & long, let's melt by moon cusp
Because something horrible is happening-
and I haven't had time enough to love.
*Title and ending lines by Cuban poet Carilda Olivar Labra
Posted for Poets United - Love is Not a greeting Card - Hosted by Susan
And D'verse Poets Pub - Rhymed Stanza Hosted by Gay (AABA BBCB CCDC DDED)
Oh, beautiful! Desperate! Brilliant. Would all violence stopped to make time for love. Thank you for introducing me to this poet. I attempted a poem in her fire, but came out with a retelling of the Hitchcock film Notorious! Yours is the real thing. Pow!
ReplyDeleteThe juxtaposition of war and love works so well .. once again you show how much that can be done with Carilda's poetry as inspiration, I just imagine what a contrast it is to Robert Frost's version.. The smell of war and desperation and the feeling of being locked in together with the love is perfect here.
ReplyDeleteWar and love can sure bring about a mix of emotion and must dos right then and there
ReplyDelete' war is crossing a bridge' to distract the life, love,...moving scary image, where your call about love should sounds so more appealing for humanity....~ Powerful poem!
ReplyDeleteVery sad in life if one feels one does not have time to love... In war I am sure many feel that way.
ReplyDeleteThere's always time for love... with a war crossing the bridge, maybe not. You painted a dark scene; shots ringing, red sirens and black ash sky... then the pinch of light in the room filled with honey...
ReplyDeletei wonder if there's ever the feel that we had time enough to love... and in the face of a war or a sickness it's getting so much more important
ReplyDeleteLove is the answer, the solution, the panacea, literally the common cosmic denominator for all us, every heart in mankind's tribes; great strong sad poem, defiantly romantic, rocking the form, illustrating the image, ace-ing the prompt; nice job.
ReplyDeleteInteresting - by quoting the lines, of course, you abandoned the iambic; however, you gained the depth of the metaphor which you developed to the rhyme scheme throughout creating a poem of images, textures, and emotions. Very vibrant work.
ReplyDeleteSurely people awake when they feel it matters. But very few people reach that point.
ReplyDeleteYou take liberties with the form. I believe form is essential in art.
more love and less war would be nice
ReplyDeleteLife passions - as in love and war - are so close they mingle into the same. If only we could concentrate on love...
ReplyDeleteAnna :o]
The sky will be black ash, a toxic glove
ReplyDeleteLet's not waste time with apologies!
So much to be aware of to survive. There are not to be small talk to question and argue about little things. The question is now! Glad you took this line to show what love is, Grace!
Hank
The contrast between what is happening outside the poet's walls and the love expressed makes us feel the urgency more acutely. And, yes, then the only possible response is love.
ReplyDeleteWowzers! THREE prompts in one......well done!!!!! The poet's lines at the end was a cool surprise, and left me in awe that you managed all three prompts...........in one spectacular write.
ReplyDelete"I am bewitched / with flames in your eyes." magical lines...to love is to live that triumphs over time/war/death....
ReplyDeleteYour powerful poem is in synch with the mood generated by watching TV news. Your use of enjambment is extremely effective.
ReplyDeletesoulful.
ReplyDeleteThis speaks of love and terror and love wins...for the moment...good rhythm and interesting rhymes...like this one...thankyou.
ReplyDeleteWhat a wonderful story pressed into this poem...i could smell the need to experience life...before the end..
ReplyDeletelet us love....because something horrible is happening....great lines in the end there...but you play off of it is really well done...the rhymes and rhythm give this a really fluid feel esp there in the opening stanza
ReplyDeleteThere's a rhyming dictionary??? Kidding. Thanks for coming by...I tried.
ReplyDeleteGood poem.
There is a desperation in love that is being torn from our grasp. Nicely woven
ReplyDeleteWow. This was so moving.
ReplyDeleteI like the juxtaposition of suffocating violent despair with the desperate need to feel and express love. There is an urgency to this message that resonates with me.
ReplyDeleteI like the juxtaposition of suffocating violent despair with the desperate need to feel and express love. There is an urgency to this message that resonates with me.
ReplyDeleteBeyond what anything I would have thought of, it's beautifully rich and evocotive. To me, the individual, too, can express love as something horrible happening if he or she is not not prepared to accept it due to past experiences with it.
ReplyDeleteOh!! Grace! I believe this challenge was meant for you...you truly brought the contrasts of the bitter-sweet...seductive and hard...balanced so well. :)
ReplyDeletethe intensity is scorching in your poem, Grace - I have only this nightfall to survive - such a powerful line - wonderful!
ReplyDeleteNice employment of slanted rhymes in this. Really enjoyed.
ReplyDeletemany layers to the personality.....................but don;t we all have them...
ReplyDeletethe war and it's effect ..very intense lines..beautiful
ReplyDeleteAll the sweeter. All the more real.
ReplyDeleteHmmm, interesting complicated passion in an apocalyptic metaphor.
ReplyDeleteOr so I read it.
So beautifully done! And my compliments on the excellent rhyming. :)
ReplyDeletethere's an old Robert Heinlein (the scifi author) story called "Time enough for love".
ReplyDeleteHere, you employ Labra's lines to great effect... ~