Memory tends to glorify a place. Growing up in West Texas, one of my favorite memories is going out with some of my friends to the "sandhills" just outside of our little town and camping out on a Friday or Saturday night.
We sit
Beneath a desert sky
And watch the aisles of stars
Leading away to infinity
As our breaths catch
And our hearts palpitate
In helpless wonder
We listen
As a desert breeze
Whispers the enduring story
Of the boundless and eternal love
Of the passionate paramour sky
For the coy and maidenly horizon
And how their mystic
Ardor for each other
Is quenched and satisfied
Twice each day
In the rapturous beauty
Of dawn and twilight
We sleep
Beneath a desert moon
Peacefully in the aqueous shadows
Of starlight
Lullabied by the ancient duet
Of the welcoming naked earth
And the caressing desert breeze
A reached out hand, was the whisper of a breeze
A firm clench across the smooth skin of my old Nebraska girl
A ruthless pressure digging at my sedimentary soul, holding it draped upon her heartland plains
Devils of dust spew upward with blinding grit
Eternities of prairie bend at the claw of her breath
A soaring ghost through an urban sprawl of Omaha along the vehement river, where I have forever remained
Never able to unhinge the bind of her tiresome, loving grip
Unknowing of all past her motherly land
Until I hear a maidenly echo crawl through that vice of a wind, mountainous and sincere
Tempt me, enchant me westward, do the sirens of tranquility from a girl named Colorado
Her beautifully rugged imperfections that rise from her colorful skin beseech my eyes of hazel to be laid upon them
She’s the medicine I crave, the miracle I need to loosen the iron hold of my old Nebraska girl
To explore beyond my horizons
Colorado, I’m bound for you
Softly savoring the summer moon
she set aside her needle work.
to bask in the evening’s quiet murmur.
The stitches carelessly tossed aside
for a maidenly moment of fantasy’s madness.
The endless tapestry had drained her of her diligence.
Her tired fingers thirsted for finer threads.
The draw of dreams of soft beds and velvet slippers
flowed through her, softening her calloused fingers.
The light mist of the evening lulled her.
A soft blush lay upon her cheeks.
With well-chosen words he called her to come closer.
Behind his dark eyes lay labyrinths filled with passion.
These treasures revealed swept through her soul with a fire.
All that could still be called out to lure her to his lair.
Weighing the balance; endless stitching or unending light.
She set her needle work upon the shelf
And stepped out toward the stars.
(after a drawing by Ghirlandaio)
We see that it was dashed off in a trice,
without a trace of reticence or nerve.
The contrapposto thigh, the shoulder’s curve,
are perfect. Nothing wasted. All precise.
And yet it has the power to entice,
with just a hint of maidenly reserve;
vitality and vigour, volatile verve,
it offers us a glimpse of paradise!
There’s movement in the stillness. Chimes unheard,
the breeze, unseen, that’s ruffling the flounces,
are ghosts in the machine: thus Vergil’s Word,
the gentle kiss of gesso, makes, announces
the life that’s in those folds and clefts and flourishes.
The Word’s made flesh - and what it strokes, it nourishes.
boatman sings love song
give me your maidenly kiss
sky is red in dream
Real positive season
A month of fasting,
Magnanimity, generosity ,and maidenly
A time to give up ugly saying and acts
Darling Ramadan!
Am I lucky?
Not sure till the end of it.
I lift the black veil
to gently reveal
her beautiful face:
mystery no more,
brought to the fore,
shy maidenly gaze;
deep eyes ebony,
whispering softly,
desert habibi;
long time I waited
to quiet this need,
on the sands we lay;
under a pale moon
alone in the dune,
lovers communion.
Then screams the FM
signaling the morn,
alas, just a dream!
‘Habibi’ is an Arabic word of endearment
meaning 'beloved', 'sweetheart' or 'dearest'.