my fingers pluck
taut guitar strings, i shake
off the labels people have of me:
hardness, coarseness, shallow words
& let the beat inside me move
to roaring sea, wind, ever restless
crescendo, then the lilt, slower drum
beat, shoulders and hips sway & slump
i should be writing about broken
emptiness, solemn grey clouds
messy fallen leaves, dirty city air
but my hands strike a nerve of a mountain
& grips a rope to bring me
down on my knees, searching for fire:
that core that leans to the sun
those tides that full moon smoulders
the tilt of my gravity moves
towards you, softer cadence,
garden you spring - from me, of me, with me
everything pours out in my music:
another love song
fruity & fragrant -
is what an italian sauce should be -
so what's the secret, i ask -
time he says, choose carefully the season-
ings & ripe tomatoes - flame-red, elliptical & firm
not flabby, containing little water & few seeds-
i peel off - skin & seeds - ready for the lesson -
(note: oregano makes a bitter marriage with sauce)
he starts with a fast saute
olive oil, garlic, onion, celery, carrot & parsley
i curl into the earthly aroma -
all senses taut & stirred in what we are creating -
here's the key, he carefully watches sauce pan -
the tomatoes natural juices allow the other
sauce ingredients to stand out while it simmers -
not suffocating (like heavy puree), but enriching flavor -
i imagine my colors swirling in canvas-
coppery gold with specks of autumn orange, rising in steam-
cook gently but quickly, he adds -
& with a flourish, he ends with a dab of olive oil -
don't forget that & this -
his hand reaches for the wine glass
i swivel in his tongue - lush of grapes & black plums-
fruity & fragrant-
Posted for D'verse Poets Pub - Poetics by Karin G - Anything about Italian, so I went for Italian cooking ~ Happy long weekend & thanksgiving to my Canadian friends ~
If I am to assemble our bodies
in a canvas
it will be the distance between pale
sky and sea
pounding the wall thick of old trees
If I am to journal our words
in a book
it will be thin & scrawny with hardly
any quotes
pressed amidst dried roses & frayed ink
So instead, I will make plump of
our hollowed bellies &
smear turmeric & saffron on our faces
earth rich, sun-burst colors
pining eagerly as autumn leaves before falling
away-
We moved in this house with only 3 rooms:
Map Room,
Mirror in the Sky
& Elephants are Everywhere-
This how our constellations construct -
We start our morning in
Mirror in the Sky
where everything falls
into our bodies like magnets:
autumn leaves, goose feathers & apple seeds
Then by afternoon, we scamper
to Elephants are Everywhere-
Here, you fix broken appliances
and watch world war II documentaries
while I search for
Elephants in crossword puzzles
& worn books & labels of bottled jams-
And at night, we sink into
Map Room, where you would unfurl
our mast & scatter compass points across the table-
under a single flame,
your pirate's eyes search for latitudes:
east for spices, west for oil
north for mountain peaks
finally south, for my diamonds-
& i would sigh for every X mark you find -
Posted for: Imaginary Garden for Real Toads - For Margaret's challenge - To write about Place & D'verse Poets Pub - OpenLinkNight - Thanks to Karin (Manicddaily) for inspiring me to write about Elephants, smiles ~
fur against skin,
we discover kinship and language:
vertical emptiness under
sky, but where
i stall at black void-
you form possibilities
as you hang
upon bare autumn trees hot
dripping glue strands
your artist's hands
molding my world to snow -
glazed pristine silver
suddenly my arms
branch to write blooming roses
my feet garden
lush green, i
weave magical tales: bear-clad prince,
stolen treasures underneath
forest trees, i
tower, my eyes can ((finally)) believe
what (( i )) can be:
clouds-lifted, fearless, i
rest words on page ((& nestle close to)) you,
warm as sun
Posted for D'verse Poets Pub - We are writing poems based on lovely artwork of Catrin Welz-Stein via Redbubble ~
Poetry form: Collum lunes (3-5-3 words, mostly ha~)
