 |
| Cherry Blossom (1905) John Reinhard Weguelin |
She:
a product of a poisoning
is unblemished fruit
ripe
for the picking.
He is hiding there,
hiding neath the woodpile
yet affords her a view of single eye;
he watches waiting
waiting as she fills her basket,
fills it with the want of him,
he a fuel for her fire.
Oh how she longs for warmth,
she his unfeathered maiden,
maidens who too young to burn,
bleed and sizzle, spit in protest,
until engulfed, they are consumed
in his awkward awful flame.
She waits wide-eyed
understands not what she sees.
A crisp December morning,
she clears the grate,
clears it for a new day
and he rises from the ashes.
He takes her there,
takes her in the cold of winter,
takes her there on winter’s table,
presses down and takes her there.
She bleeds but does not sizzle
spit in protest, rather succumbs
to warm breath warm hands,
takes comfort
from the closeness
rhythm of his body.
(There is rhythm in belonging.)
She is fallen, fallen high from grace,
she falls as cherry blossom,
a pink confetti , a scattering
in a cemetery of childhood.
She is fallen yet somehow whole.
Anna :o]
Shared with the good folk at Poets United – thank you Mary, and also at Open Link Night at dVerse hosted tonight by Joe - thanks to you too Joe.
Image: Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons
.jpg){kind=link}
37 comments:
wow...i was unsure which way this would go...innocent first loves or something very much darker...i am glad it was the first...and love the allusions...the falling like a cherry blossom...smiles...there is rhythm in belonging, so true....there is...
Oh! The tenderness of sensuality is thoroughly felt in your words. Great rhythm and beautifully penned.
-HA
Gorgeous writing, Anna. Your images rush from intense to soothing with strong rhythm. Love it.
I love "she his unfeathered maiden"! A surprise, cleaning the grate and him rising from the ashes, smiles.......Love her falling like a cherry blossom. Lovely.
So beautiful. I hope the distance from him dissolves. She is not just the taken. She is only the burning. She can also bestow that flame.
Very nicely penned. I really like the idea that "There is rhythm in belonging." Like Brian mentioned, I am glad that this poem had a happy ending! Smiles.
Sensual and lovely poem Anna! "She is fallen yet somehow complete." - perfect closing line.
Like Brian, I was feeling a bit uncertain as well.and I am still puzzled by the image of her being taken.forced or voluntary?what kind of belonging is that?intriguing piece.
All the heart's desires can never be fulfilled.
She bleeds etc, creates some ambiguity, but my presumption as I read it was that she was being pursued by a wanted predator and was semi fulfilled by the outcome.
Some very powerful lines here...this is my favorite "She bleeds but does not sizzle"...wow
so beautifully crafted with lovely imagery throughout
Lovely words ... lovely feeling ...
Very impressive.. a somewhat classic poem of the fall of a maiden.. still at the end a complete and modern take.. I'm reminded of the setting in those 19th century novels.. but still with a totally new end.. and the cherry blossom imagery is so strong.
Fallen from the realms of innocence to be together in the arms of one dear to her heart. Sensuously a pic of love and togetherness. Nicely Anna!
Hank
Anna, this was so beautifully, perfectly crafted. Mesmerising...and just perfect. I loved it. ~~ Kim
lovely images, and an intriguing poem. I think this is a work about loss of innocence. :)
This reminds me of one of my favorite quotes: "Pain is the shell that encompasses understanding." Loss of innocence is often painful, yet how else can we grow our knowing? You portray that well here and I, too, like the falling cherry blossoms.
Elizabeth
nice write especially liked
"She is fallen, fallen high from grace,
she falls as cherry blossom,
a pink confetti , a scattering
in a cemetery of childhood."
strong imagery :)
(There is rhythm in belonging.)
Wow.
Hi Anna,
Love the depth amongst the pretty imagery in your ending and earlier especially: "as she fills her basket,
fills it with the want of him...." Great Stuff! With Best wishes Scott www.scotthastie.com
I think I need to repeat what I've read in several comments...WOW! Seriously, Anna, wow.
Oh, this is a deep poem....a gem. And I really liked the ending...that she is is fallen, yet whole. A powerful statement indeed!
fallen yet whole...heck... what a a write... she was prepared though...and true...There is rhythm in belonging....
very sensual...and beautifully penned
Wow - something entirely new from you - heat in the cold, fire and ice, ardor and longing, suppression and release - done so artfully and beautifully. Beautiful word choices, delicate like porcelain. Always taken somewhere else by your words. Wishing you the merriest of Christmases Anna, and a fabulous New Year!
For me this elicited a sense of the Eden Complex with its components of myth, the fall and death. Nicely done.
Thank you for you kind and welcome comments folks.
The words are semi-(or maybe wholly) autobiographical and why I began to think of loss of innocence (spot-on dnake 1 and Elizabeth) I do not know.
The ‘poisoning’ relates to beliefs held (indoctrinated – I don’t know) that the act of physical love was purely for the purpose of procreation. My head held that belief – my (confused) heart didn’t.
My first ‘steady’ was indeed a forester, knew of my innocence and ‘waited’ for me and eventually took matters into his own hands. But – and a big but – his guilt of what he attempted to do, well, meant he couldn’t – I will let you draw your own conclusions – and he felt clumsy and awful and inadequate. So we were both hurt.
I lost my innocence further down the line to the man who was to become – and still is – my hubs.
So really, the poem is the intermingling of two relationships.
Abin: My teenage years were spent in the era of supposed free love but this was not the aspirations of all. I lost my innocence through a degree of coercion – coercion perhaps too strong, but at this time cannot think of an appropriate softer word (although I am certain there is one) – so I did feel I was ‘taken.’ (But afterwards was happy with the discovery of this love.)
Peologic: Physically bleeding oft- but not always- happens at the loss of innocence. This ‘bleed’ can often be an emotional in- or outpouring too…
The poem is of course from a female perspective and I am led to believe the same amount of 'first time' angst – though perhaps for different reasons – exist for those wonderful things that are the males of the species.
Anna :o]
Such sensuality, it hangs like ivy in an English garden. A great write, thanks for sharing. ~peace, Jason
very rich imagery..."there is rhythm in belonging" great line and so true...the way you end the poem with cherry blossoms, confetti and especially "in a cemetery of childhood"...very fine writing.
" . . clears the grate," "cemetery of childhood.." "..he rises from the ashes. ." for me this is one not so easily understood.
It is an intriguing write, subtle of meaning I think, easy flow, a romance to it.
I like it, but don't know why.
Cheers!
Well I am happy that it ended well for her sake specially ~ Enjoyed your wonderful story ~ Wishing you all the best for the holidays ~
such imagery in your words Anna - sublime and alluring - thank you for the read
Oh Anna this is gorgeous, there is something about writing that is so perfectly balanced
falling hard and softly
all at the same time
lovely poem
I too liked the rhythm of belonging, which rings true and retains ambiguity. It's a very accepting poem, it seems to me - and yes, positive at the end.
What a beautiful way to explain "hormones." That is why we used to get married so young. lol
Post a Comment