The Black Iris

(i)

It falls down as nectar
making the ground wet with salvation,
I am parched
although it rests on the edge of my lips, beckoning
my vision melting and morphing into all that could beβ€”
the laughter of the sky fills the night,
as nymphs tread a lovely dance among immortals,
I gaze down and watch
as my body flutters and chases them around ash trees.

(ii)

Savor the taste of bitter truth,
two pieces of the root of the sweet iris
without bark,
one litter of grappa and brown sugar.
Observe as the sun kisses the pieces dry,
pouring ever so slowly like liquid gold
as heaviness of the day is lifted.
For ninety days be placed in a litter of grappa
as time stings and sits on the cuts
and lastly drink, all the lone while, breaking
a little more–

(iii)

Love notes for irises blooming beneath
your bedroom window,
the clouds
no longer grey and cheeks flushed
with the knowledge of arriving decades.
Aphrodite, born from white foam produced
by severed genitals of Uranus,
as the moons of youth spilled once more
into dawn
and we felt ourselves interminable again.
Tell me, why does love sting for those who choose it?
In a heartbeat, she laughed and in a moment I knew.

(iv)

Lay me down
in all my vulnerability, and place an iris
between my hips,
for once
we have tasted eros everything else failsβ€”
tomorrow’s raindrops
pale in comparison to the fire in your eyes
as they trace my skin,
forbidden songs jagging placid landscapes;
and now, I cannot tear my gaze away.

 

Photo credits: The Black Iris by Georgia O’Keeffe, Pinterest

Posted for Weekly Scribblings @ Poets and Storytellers United

Posted on the Open Link Night @ dVerse Poets Pub

44 thoughts on “The Black Iris

  1. Rommy says:

    I like the progression of the piece. The first line sets you up knowing there will be a fall, and it winds deeper and deeper into the intoxication (and near madness) of love and melancholy in knowing one is well and truly caught.

    1. Sanaa says:

      Thank you so much, Rommy πŸ˜€ so glad you enjoyed it πŸ’„β€

      (and thank you for the glorious prompt) 🌹

  2. Jae Rose says:

    Such an epic poem – each verse could be complete within itself

    1. Sanaa says:

      Thank you so much, Jae πŸ˜€ so glad you liked it πŸ’„β€

  3. gillena says:

    Forbidden songs, passion, nectar allthe ingredients for a good concoction of myth. Bravo

    Happy Wednesday

    Much✏❀✏love

    1. Sanaa says:

      Thank you so much, Gillena πŸ˜€ so glad the poem resonated with you πŸ’„β€

      Happy Wednesday to you too!

      MuchπŸ’„β€love

  4. I kept going back to salvation falling onto the earth as nectar. I wonder what such ground would grow…

    1. Sanaa says:

      Thank you so much, Magaly πŸ˜€ so glad you enjoyed it πŸ’„β€

  5. Lori says:

    There is no finer wine than love and once tasted you are left thirsty for more. I love the interlinking between each of the stanzas.

    1. Sanaa says:

      Thank you so much, Lori πŸ˜€ so glad you liked it πŸ’„β€

  6. marja says:

    Oh love potions who doesn’t want to drink from them Gorgeous poem and especially love “cheeks flushed with the knowledge of arriving decades” and ” as the moons of youth spilled once more into dawn”

    1. Sanaa says:

      Thank you so much, Marja πŸ˜€ so glad the poem resonated with you πŸ’„β€

  7. Margaret says:

    stanza (iv) … Swoon!

    1. Sanaa says:

      Awwww gosh! πŸ’„β€ Thank you so much, Margaret πŸ˜€ so glad you enjoyed it! πŸ’„β€

  8. If I should ever look upon a black iris, I will think of this, Sanaa. A soft song of a longing soul and another well-written expression of the heart.

    1. Sanaa says:

      Thank you so much, Joel πŸ˜€ so good to see you πŸ’„β€

  9. Wow, Sanaa, this is a sensual piece! From the β€˜nectar / making the ground wet with salvation’ to the melting vision and laughter of the sky, and the taste of bitter truth.
    I love the lines:
    β€˜β€¦once
    we have tasted eros everything else failsβ€”
    tomorrow’s raindrops
    pale in comparison to the fire in your eyes
    as they trace my skin’.

    1. Sanaa says:

      Thank you so much, Kim πŸ˜€ so glad you liked it πŸ’„β€

  10. A beautiful creation of a new myth (or so I suppose) from O’Keefe’s glorious painting.

    1. Sanaa says:

      Thank you so much, Rosemary πŸ˜€ so glad you enjoyed it πŸ’„β€

  11. Oh the intoxication of passion can burn with the hottest flames. No one thinks of it ending until the fire is gone. Love this passionate, intimate poem.

    1. Sanaa says:

      Thank you so much, Susie πŸ˜€ so glad you liked it πŸ’„β€

  12. Jim says:

    Stage gets set for the heat. I liked best the “fire in your eyes” tracing body curves.
    ..

    1. Sanaa says:

      Thank you so much, Jim πŸ˜€ so good to see you πŸ’„β€

  13. Sara McNulty says:

    Each a special poem on its own, but as a progression, superb! I love that last stanza, and the fact that you used Georgia O’Keeffe’s painting.

    1. Sanaa says:

      Thank you so much, Sara πŸ˜€ so glad you enjoyed it πŸ’„β€

  14. Lovers should read this out loud to each other. I was once impaled by love that laid me in lilies at Easter.

    1. Sanaa says:

      Thank you so much, Colleen πŸ˜€ so glad the poem resonated with you πŸ’„β€

  15. Truly stunning Sanaa!

    1. Sanaa says:

      Thank you so much, Linda πŸ˜€ so glad you liked it πŸ’„β€

  16. Jade Li says:

    The praises you sing in the steaming bath of Eros’ spell are intoxicating, Sanaa <3

    1. Sanaa says:

      Thank you so much, Jade Li πŸ˜€ so glad you enjoyed it πŸ’„β€

  17. Bjorn Rudberg says:

    I can really sense the complexity of love… both the unbearable pain and the overwhelming joy… you have to accept them both.

    1. Sanaa says:

      Thank you so much, Bjorn πŸ˜€ so glad the poem resonated with you πŸ’„β€

  18. I really enjoyed part iii of this piece.

    1. Sanaa says:

      Thank you so much, Arcadia Maria πŸ˜€ so glad you enjoyed it πŸ’„β€

  19. Frank Hubeny says:

    Nice last line about not being able to tear one’s gaze away.

    1. Sanaa says:

      Thank you so much, Frank πŸ™‚ so glad you liked it πŸ’„β€

  20. Pain and joy – such a lovely telling of the black iris from O’Keefe’s painting. The salvation falling like nectar is superb.

    1. Sanaa says:

      Thank you so much, Toni πŸ˜€ so glad you enjoyed it πŸ’„β€

  21. JIm Feeney says:

    Hi Sanaa
    I visited the Georgia O’Keefe museum in Santa Fe, New Mexico a few years ago and toured the area around which inspired her paintings, your excellent poem captures the sensuality of her paintings and art….well done…JIM

    1. Sanaa says:

      Thank you so much, Jim πŸ˜€ so glad the poem resonated with you πŸ’„β€

  22. So luciciously sensuous, with erotic imagery that pours off the poem! Utterly love it!

  23. Sanaa says:

    Thank you so much, Frank πŸ˜€ so glad you liked it! πŸ’„β€οΈ

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