Thursday 17 April 2014

The other face of Midnight


I don't see her often, a whiff of shadow
in mirrored wall or pale afternoon sun

But come night, she's a secret to be unfolded- 
Something parched, something incomplete

Oozes out, become threads & ink 
Her fingers lift to charcoal the empty page

Blurred by moonlight,  she fetches a storm
underneath the quiet sky & labels it-  Rapture - 

The red moon is all hers, 
There's electricity in her lush ebony hair.

Where the path breaks into different crossing
There she runs to see what's coming next, next-

Come morning, there is body she inhabits. 
Numbers. Efficiency.  A box within a room.

That is what the world wants to see. She complies
by dropping a token in the metal box . Only her belly  

grumbles from this subway train chase 
with its door chimes forever opening & closing -   

Seeds.   How she loves beginnings. Every first
stolen kiss, a stab of memory lingers like dewdrops.

Desire.  The quick inhalation of passion.
Warm wine.  The bleeding of hours, sweet as tangerines.

I sometimes forget how she writes,
what she dreams of, but she lingers faint as I'm right here

By candlelight, she creaks to life,
awash with wild asterisks & stars I couldn't number -  

Her pulse grows stronger,  every season is an awakening
We disappear across the page, a duet of shade & light -   






Posted for D'verse Poets Pub - Self-portrait by Brian Miller ~ Thanks for the visit ~

48 comments:

  1. fetches a storm and calls it rapture...ha...love that...love the freedom you talk about though...after the work and numbers are done and the moon comes...its interesting too how you speak of her as almost another person as well...cool portrait grace....

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    1. Thank you for the interesting challenge Brian ~

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  2. it's good that she shows up in the night... the freedom and sensuality, desire to move and being the secret to explore...nice portrait grace

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  3. Get through the mundane and then let loose and be free, way to be

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  4. Exciting, sensual, poetic accurate portrayal, the two faces of Grace; (2 at least), sparse stanzas, depth, longing, boredom, freedom--all there/here & shared; thanks.

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  5. Exciting, sensual, poetic accurate portrayal, the two faces of Grace; (2 at least), sparse stanzas, depth, longing, boredom, freedom--all there/here & shared; thanks.

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  6. Deriving an identity of yourself...you create an image of love, desire, beauty and the entirety of a personality.
    I really liked the ending... the two sides, light and shade carrying out this duet together. A beautifully written piece. :-)

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  7. what a duet, shade and light... very sensual, Heaven :)

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  8. ....amazing, Grace; portrait of a lovely, balanced and passionate woman...

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  9. Gracew, an interesting approach to the prompt, really efficacious. >KB

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  10. Lovely... I especially love these lines: "I sometimes forget how she writes,
    what she dreams of, but she lingers faint as I'm right here" ... the ebb and flow of the way we always come back to ourselves. And I love the draw of the dark/night. A beautiful portrait.

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  11. I'd like to think I am unchanging, but even mountains change in time. Lovely imagery. "The red moon is all hers, \There's electricity in her lush ebony hair."
    Who wouldn't want that moon? Thank you for sharing.

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  12. 'We disappear across the page, a duet of shade & light'… wow! Yes, we do!
    A comet - a very lush poem portrait...

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  13. a secret unfolded, a duet of shade and light, love it.

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  14. Sometimes our true self is hidden most of the time, but oh how wonderful those times when we can be who we truly are. Lovely write!

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  15. Pure brilliance - how I wish I had wrote this! Brilliant brilliant brilliant!
    Anna :o]

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  16. Beautiful sensuality, Grace. I think we do become someone different at midnight...and thus the plethora of stories about vampires and full moons. Were you able to see the blood moon. It was incredible but I couldn't get a good photo.

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    1. It was cloudy during the blood moon ~ But I did see the full moon at dawn this morning ~ Thanks Victoria ~

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  17. Excellent Grace, a beautifully penned portrait.

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  18. I like the idea that a woman is a secret to be unfolded - it's such a nice thought about relationships and how they deepen.

    looking at the pictures, are you a dancer ?

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    1. I love to dance, yes ~ And I appreciate a guy who knows how to lead in a dance ~ Thanks for the visit ~

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  19. This is beautiful Grace. I especially loved the line "The bleeding of hours, sweet as tangerines." The whole thing, masterful!

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  20. I love the storm- Rapture, the bleeding of hours, and a duet of shade & light - beautifully done, Grace.

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  21. I love how swept up I felt reading your words~ The ending really is stunning!

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  22. i am glad she shows up at night. love the ending.

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  23. this: Something parched, something incomplete

    strikes me as being so deeply true. ~

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  24. when darkness pulls its curtain and everything blots out true self shines and unfolds......
    the train chase will be there so will be raptures...love this duet of 'shade & light' Grace...

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  25. What can I say that hasn't already been said? Very vivid imagery and a breathtaking rhythm... Beautiful!

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  26. So glad i got to read this...Truly inspiring...You're an awesome writer.

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  27. Grace.... I loved the mystery in this

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  28. the type of midnight that some people will love to have !

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  29. I loved the viewpoint - a picture of you as you stand outside and observe - knowing but in a sense always being elsewhere. Lovely.

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  30. Ah, beautiful. Love the contrats of nature and society, of loosened and constrained, right and left brain living. And these lines are so full of beauty:

    Blurred by moonlight, she fetches a storm
    underneath the quiet sky & labels it- Rapture -

    The red moon is all hers,
    There's electricity in her lush ebony hair.

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  31. Oh how I love this contrast between the required daytime persona and the real one, that comes to life on her own time.....especially love "the red moon is all hers".

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  32. Oh, that constant tension between the sensible, plain, rational world of numbers and the nights of passionate creation when:
    Something parched, something incomplete
    Oozes out, become threads & ink
    Her fingers lift to charcoal the empty page

    I hope you get to see her more and more often, whenever you like.

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  33. seeds...desires...i'm right here...her pulse grows stronger.
    I expereince you very present in your writings Grace!
    beautiful!!
    Mary

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  34. love the final three couplets, Grace - we all have our public and private selves - wonderfully expressed - K

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  35. A beautiful portrait done in third-person. Describing your poetic voice as a mystical nocturnal creature. Ingeniously creative, and I'm jealous I didn't conceive this idea. This is wonderful writing.

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  36. pretty nice blog, following :)

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  37. Yes..i truly think there is balance in life in Poetry..and your words here certainly express that beautifully..:)

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  38. Ah yes, the caged writer, the caged spirit - it needs to be let free. Glad you let her soar! As always, thank you and have a beautiful Easter!

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  39. we all have that don't we? a shade to dwell behind all the light for the world...i like the way you connect..the one rushing through the train doors, counting numbers and pebbles and stars in the candle light.....

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  40. Brilliantly done Grace, I love the effect of night and how she transforms, smiles. I wish I could pick one stanza that I like more than the other.

    Hope you are having a good holiday.

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  41. Love all these details/stanzas , freedom and vulnerability too, undone kind of person, not completed, work in progress...~ nice poem

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  42. Surely this is a site well worth seeing.

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