Solis

I originally posted this poem on September 7, and it was lost in the subsequent server crash. My thanks to the indefatigable chip for having saved it.

A sort of tribute to a woman's quiet realization.

I do not know what he sees, but I see
eyes of surpassing tenderness
and calm, a calm like the dignity
of matter. I love the open ocean
blue-grey-green of his iris, I love
the curve of it against the white,
that curve the sight

...

It's a day about love, an emotion that we too often screw up. We expect effortless magic, neglect the work, ignore the risk. In truth, it's harder and more bitter than we wish. It's work. Anais Nin once wrote, "Love never dies a natural death. It dies because we don't know how to replenish its source. It dies of blindness and errors and betrayals. It dies of illness and wounds; it dies of weariness, of witherings, of tarnishings."

But you already knew that, didn't ...

Many are exploring, not sure of what they're looking for or even of where to look. Many, perhaps more abraded by life and years, fear not knowing where they might end up. They fear ruin and, perhaps, ruins where they'd dreamed of castles. Cavafy knows what they're looking for, and how to look for it. They're looking for their own Ithaka.

-----------------

As you set out for Ithaka
hope the voyage is a long one,
full of adventure, full of discovery. ...

Not a red rose or a satin heart.

I give you an onion.
It is a moon wrapped in brown paper.
It promises light
like the careful undressing of love.

Here.
It will blind you with tears
like a lover.
It will make your reflection
a wobbling photo of grief.

I am trying to be truthful.

Not a cute card or a kissogram.

I give you an onion.
Its fierce kiss will stay on your lips, ...

You might pursue an arrangement of "Sunshine on Leith" for solo vocal:

My heart was broken, my heart was broken
Sorrow Sorrow Sorrow Sorrow
My heart was broken, my heart was broken

You saw it, You claimed it
You touched it, You saved it

My tears are drying, my tears are drying
Thankyou Thankyou Thankyou Thankyou
My tears are drying, my tears are drying

Your beauty and kindness
...

If anyone asks you
how the perfect satisfaction
of all our sexual wanting
will look, lift your face
and say,
Like this.

If anyone wants to know what "spirit" is,
or what "God’s fragrance" means,
lean your head toward him ...
Keep your face there close.
Like this.

When someone quotes the old poetic image
about clouds gradually uncovering the moon,
slowly loosen knot by knot ...

i like my body when it is with your
body. It is so quite new a thing.
Muscles better and nerves more.
i like your body. i like what it does,
i like its hows. i like to feel the spine
of your body and its bones, and the trembling
-firm-smooth ness and which i will
again and again and again
kiss, i like kissing this and that of you,
i like, slowly stroking the shocking fuzz
of your electric fur, and what-is-it comes
...

He came out of the office where he was employed
in an unimportant and poorly paid position
(up to eight pounds a month, with tips);
when he finished his tedious work
that kept him stooped all afternoon,
he came out at seven, and sauntered slowly,
gazing idly in the street. Beautiful
and interesting, he carried himself
as if he'd reached his full sensual potential.
He turned twenty-nine a month ago.

He gazed idly ...

Dance for me, my love.
Take pride in the woman you are,
flaunt your erotic nature.
Be the vamp, the flirt
who winks from under the surface
of your Sunday School face.

Tease me, sexy lady.
Translate passion into motion,
move in those exotic ways
you know will stir my desire.
Be the bad girl tonight,
and in your dance, show no mercy.

fragment of a poem, by Robert Birch

The burning question rests upon my lips . . .

Would you offer your throat to the wolf?
Do you secretly burn to bear its mark?
Has your heart ached to feed its soul?
Do you hunger to surrender your flesh?
Do you know how hungry I am for you?

Would you offer your body to the beast?
Do you ache inside with a need to tame it?
Have you ever dreamed of being mine?
Can you conquer your fears and claim it?
Would you offer ...