25 February 2010
BIKE RIDE
five-speed and he’s going uphill.
breathing through his mouth.
tulips blooming along the side
of the road and he doesn’t notice.
boot prints in spring’s first mud.
the traffic light changes; the air
gets thick and musky with car fumes
& honks & horns & the rattling
of a beat up old mustang.
he stops at the crosswalk.
pedals cease
centripital motion.
i’m reclining on the grass on a blanket
that smells like scented candles.
naked and glistening, with sweat
on my thighs. drunken bees
dip into just-bloomed honeysuckle.
gravel crackles under worn-out tires;
road needs to be paved.
shaved my head yesterday.
wearing boots like i'm hardcore.
grass blades stretch to touch
his toned calves and he doesn’t
even notice. i stare right at him. long
nose. crooked smile. deep-set eye
sockets, irises inky
ocean blue. i want to
touch his eyeball just to make sure.
light changes again.
re-mount and he’s zooming off
through the crosswalk.
tulip mouths suck in air
after he passes. clouds
come closer to earth. i’m dancing
to a gypsy jig with a tambourine.
what things people never have the time to see.
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5 comments:
Very lovely narrative poem. I like the way you stuck with this because it made me stick with it too. And it was worth the ride. You took it right to the edge of post-modern irony and then held off just enough to make it work. Nice. Also, to the edge of the surreal and yet kept it real. So there's a nice tension in the language that make it an interesting read. Bravo!
I`ll second some of what gerry said... especially about the tone and irony...
it`s me that`s ironic about myself, ehÉ
but what struck me most...
the imagery...
your poetic is soaked in language and nature...
brings me back home...
:)
@ Gerry: Thank you so much! I'm glad you enjoyed it! I wasn't really sure where I was going with it until it was done, but I think I'm glad about it in the end!
@ Jon: Thank you too, I'm glad you liked the imagery. I was trying to invoke that feeling of spring when the ground is still thawing and things are blooming and strange happenings are going on right under our noses.
What a wonderfully eclectic gathering of images. Very dream-like. Love it.
i am caught up in the image of the narrator naked but in boots, lounging with a book, longing for that first look at spring as it rides on tired but coming in it's own rebirth.
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