I have swallowed a terrific mouthful of want;
as prussian this night stretches on for miles
and beech tree’s
branches cross darkly beneath the streetlights—
my foibles, is it possible that the wind is conscious?
The yearning never stops;
sleepless, I amble through the many avenues of thought,
who are we?
Why do we continue to exist despite the conclusion of it all?
Come seize me by the shoulders;
and sift through the pieces,
some whole, some broken and some attempting to form together
to create deeper understanding—
I’d like to think
that perhaps you, sitting across in a completely different setting
are identical to me.
And though pickles are magnets for my tastebuds,
I’d rather savor the taste of what the earth’s rain has bestowed,
It’s got me speaking languages
I never knew existed before: droplets that ignite, that compel
perhaps it’s because our bodies are part water,
we can never be sure,
and so I am left alone to ponder, to envision, to believe there’s more—
I am torn between the softness of buds,
the violence of thorns
and no longer force spring, it will arrive when it arrives
but I can allow myself,
to smell its fragrance, erupting ever so slowly into the wild;
I don’t wish to be rid of this phenomenon.
For now let us linger barefoot,
naked soles on white sand as prussian this night stretches on for miles;
I have swallowed a terrific mouthful of want.
Photo credits: “Star Twins,” by Miss Pink Coconut, Digital Illustrator
Poem inspired by poetic masterpiece “Hellish Night” by Arthur Rimbaud.
Peter hosts at dVerse and invites us to write circular poems where the first and last line repeat (or are close at least) 💝
Posted for MTB: “Coming Full Circle,” @ dVerse Poets Pub
Oh my, Sanaa, a circular poem bordering on the erotic, with its ‘night-time hunger’ and ‘mouthful of want’. The lines that stand out for me are:
‘Come seize me by the shoulders;
and sift through the pieces,
some whole, some broken and some attempting to form together
to create deeper understanding’
and
‘I am torn between the softness of buds,
the violence of thorns
and no longer force spring, it will arrive when it arrives’.
Thank you so much, my dearest Kim 😍 so glad you enjoyed it 💄❤️
Marvellous piece – and what a journey between the first and last line – (I’m going to chase up Rimbaud once I finish this) – the night evoked so well – and the restless yearning of the lover. I particularly liked the mix of long/short lines – it never gives the poem a moment to settle. And prussian night and pickles as magnets – this poem has got it all.
Thank you so much, Peter 😀 so glad the poem resonated with you 💄❤️
(and thank you for the glorious prompt) 🌹
Oh, this is beautiful, Sanaa! A lovely poem of accepting what may come. I also love how you write about food and tastes so often, and pickle as magnets for tastebuds is great! 😀
Thank you so much, Merril 😀 the poem literally wrote itself after the first train of thought 💄❤️
Oh, the yearning in this poem, and the distances travelled! Just beautiful. I notice you have written several circular poems recently, and I have enjoyed them all. I think the form suits your reflective, introspective style of writing.
Thank you so much, Ingrid 😀 so glad you liked it 💄❤️
Yes, it’s something I do every now and then 😉
I love the whole poem, there is a maturity there that I like very much. I connect with this part especially:
“I am torn between the softness of buds,
the violence of thorns”
Thank you so much, Lisa 😀 so glad the poem resonated with you 💄❤️
I love how you journey through passion from the first line to the last even the two-sided part of the buds and the thorns… and yet after all this you come back as hungry as ever.
Thank you so much, Bjorn 😀 so glad you enjoyed it 💄❤️
Ah I know that taste! Oh the longing! Where are those darling buds? Capering about. Waiting for may, swelling with a notyetripeness what a great poem Sanaa!
Thank you so much, Eric 😀 so glad the poem resonated with you 💄❤️
What everyone else has said, and I’ll add that your line breaks and enjambment are such a tease! Just adore what you’ve done with them.
Thank you so much, Misky 😀 so glad you liked it 💄❤️
I can’t decide if it’s a love poem to a present lover, or an elegy to someone lost, or a yearning for someone still unmet. Beautifully ambiguous.
Neither of the three. It discusses the urge to want more and questions regarding human existence that plague when one lies awake at night. Thanks for stopping by, Alexandra 💄❤️
Oh my Sanaa, what slow burn of desire snd wonder you have brewed here. This unfolds pleasantly anew with each read. Beautiful write!
Thank you so much, Rob 😀 so glad you enjoyed it 💄❤️
“naked soles on white sand as prussian this night stretches on for miles;”
I love that “as prussian”, one of those phrases that snags on the brain and makes the reader read and re-read the line…beautiful poem, Sanaa!
JIM
Thank you so much, Jim 😀 so good to see you 💄❤️
I love your weave or great images… The prussian sky caught my eye first thing… then …I am torn between the softness of buds,
the violence of thorns
and no longer force spring
Sounds like the wisdom of the ages coming through…
Thank you so much, Dwight 😀 so glad you liked it 💄❤️
This may be one of my favorite poems of yours (but this thought crosses my head upon each visit) I LOVE this :
“Why do we continue to exist despite the conclusion of it all?
Come seize me by the shoulders;
and sift through the pieces,”
I feel the mouthful of want throughout the whole poem and it is tantalizing!!
Awww gosh! Thank you so much, Tricia 😀 so glad you enjoyed it 💄❤️
So many have commented on these wonderful lines:
“I am torn between the softness of buds,
the violence of thorns
and no longer force spring, it will arrive when it arrives
but I can allow myself,”
This is a deep and hungry poem, tossed by opposites of hunger and acceptance, like an ocean, and like a spring. “but I can allow myself” – agree with Misky, this enjambment is marvelous, bequeathing double meanings and multiple beauties, to allow oneself- to see, to smell them blooms, to actually bloom, to eat, to love. Wonderful!
Thank you so much, my dearest Lona 😀 so glad the poem resonated with you 💄❤️
Beautiful!
Thank you so much, Ricardo 😀 so glad you liked it 💄❤️
seeking the answers to impossible pondering … you’ve used taste and visuals that tease and torment… masterfully done!
Thank you so much, Kate 😀 so glad you enjoyed it 💄❤️
The round is absolutely essential here, for the circular awareness at work is that the outer panoply of night as a kindred tapestry within. Both turns are cultivated and savored by the poet’s lingering (and rounding) eye. So the questions that you ask throughout are the streetlights and the images are the beech trees that welcome lingering on the tastebuds of want. You’re going after strong stuff Sanaa, keep crafting sounds and shapes that canopy the conceit. You’re developing the chops to do it.
Thank you so much, Brendan 😀 so glad the poem resonated with you 💄❤️