On a cold day in January
Sanaa -
January 3, 2019
Earlier PoemsPoetry

I have thought a lot about ache 
of being served acai bowl
with palm fruit 
as though I have been left with no choice, 
what if my soul desires acrid 
or is accustomed to gravel in voice?

What if I desire percussion
that breaks through windows of suffering
of city dust, 
I hear you pass with recalcitrant feet 
tell me 
is it obvious 
(since I am staring in your direction)
love is a malady, a rising
a lump in the throat that we all crave.  

I took a blood carnation
all the while kneeling at my bedside
and scribbled:
“Would that this velvet affair 
begin 
with my heart thundering down 
from heights,
the fire, the heat of my poems 
reach 
similar to one high on wine and bread,
today
and tomorrow
there is nothing more
that this Poet in me could ever want.”

 

Photo credits: Pinterest

Word List: ache, gravel, percussion, city, carnation, bedside, heat, bread, poems.

Posted on Get Listed January Edition @ Real Toads

 

Also posted on the poetry pantry @ Poets United

64 Responses

  1. Kunal says:
    January 3, 2019 at 7:15 pm

    Exquisite!

    Reply
  2. Toni Spencer says:
    January 4, 2019 at 12:43 am

    The last three lines say it all for the poet in all of us. I know I desire nothing more …and a cup of strong coffee in the morning!

    Reply
  3. annell4 says:
    January 4, 2019 at 1:05 am

    A beautiful poem!! Yes, it all comes down to the closing lines, I love it!

    Reply
  4. Magaly Guerrero says:
    January 4, 2019 at 2:06 am

    A heart wants what it wants what it wants… And in few people are these things as strongly felt as in the heart of an artist. I really like how you say it in the words that close the poem, but love how you makes us feeling from beginning to end.

    Reply
    • Sanaa says:
      January 4, 2019 at 2:20 am

      Awww gosh! ❤️ Thank you so much, Magaly 😀 so glad the poem resonated with you! ❤️

      (oh yes that stubborn heart .. sigh 😉 )

      Reply
  5. Pat says:
    January 4, 2019 at 10:55 am

    The lines ” I took a blood carnation
    all the while kneeling at my bedside
    and scribbled:”

    really just clinched this for me – I was enraptured by the force of the image, and enraptured by how the magic was woven from beginning to end – this is a fresh perspective in your poetic endeavours Sanaa – it’s bright, solemn, light and a pleasure to read – the words you’ve so deftly woven blend seamlessly and just add the grace of power to the sentiments it expresses.

    wonderful inspiration!

    Reply
  6. Old Egg says:
    January 4, 2019 at 12:54 pm

    Going back many years I seem to remember love filled me up in all my senses. Even though those days are gone (for me) your writing echoed those years of youth when nothing was impossible. Lets hope that velvet affair makes its way to your door.

    Reply
  7. Sherry Blue sky says:
    January 4, 2019 at 2:49 pm

    You used a lot of the words in a most wonderful way.

    Reply
  8. Cressida says:
    January 4, 2019 at 4:05 pm

    I echo Old Egg’s comment. Enjoy ! Anything is possible.

    Reply
  9. Kim M. Russell says:
    January 4, 2019 at 5:41 pm

    I love the clever play on ache, acai and acrid in the first stanza, Sanaa, and the image of the blood carnation in the third. The lines that appeal to me the most are:
    ‘the fire, the heat of my poems
    reach
    similar to one high on wine
    and bread,
    today
    and tomorrow
    there is nothing more
    that this Poet in me could ever want’.

    Reply
  10. Susie Clevenger says:
    January 5, 2019 at 7:15 am

    This is so beautiful. Your poetry grows more exquisite, deeper, more beautiful. Happy New Year!

    Reply
  11. Margaret says:
    January 5, 2019 at 10:16 am

    ‘the fire, the heat of my poems
    reach
    similar to one high on wine
    and bread,

    …oh such passion – hold on to it as long as you can!

    Reply
  12. kaykuala h says:
    January 5, 2019 at 3:20 pm

    there is nothing more
    that this Poet in me could ever want.”

    Once one sets the pace then the satisfying desire would have been fulfilled.

    Hank

    Reply
  13. Bjorn Rudberg says:
    January 6, 2019 at 12:13 am

    I love how you started this with the pain and passion nailing it down to that conclusion of a poem… well done.

    Reply
  14. Kerry says:
    January 6, 2019 at 2:12 am

    What if I desire percussion
    that breaks through windows of suffering
    of city dust,

    I love the way you worked with the words, especially in the above lines.

    Reply
  15. Helen says:
    January 6, 2019 at 7:00 am

    This is awesome poetry! Also love the photos that accompany your posts.

    Reply
  16. Thotpurge says:
    January 6, 2019 at 4:45 pm

    the heat of my poems
    reach
    similar to one high on wine and bread,…. that’s a lovely analogy!

    Reply
  17. Rosemary Nissen-Wade says:
    January 6, 2019 at 6:39 pm

    How magically you use the words, and arouse in the reader a re-living of such consuming emotions.

    Reply
  18. Laura Bloomsbury says:
    January 6, 2019 at 7:38 pm

    Such power in the last verse scribbles – sounds as potent as a love potion. Glad to see the romantic in you is still a strong beating heart <3

    Reply
  19. Sherry Blue sky says:
    January 6, 2019 at 8:39 pm

    “Love is a malady, a rising, a lump in the throat that we all crave….” That it is!

    Reply
  20. Mary says:
    January 6, 2019 at 9:39 pm

    I like the way your poem seemed to go full circle. Beginning with a food image and ending with a food image. (Myself – I wouldn’t mind the acai bowl,, I don’t think. Are palm fruit unpleasant? But then the bread and wine at the end – symbolic of communion? If so, very sharp image. Again, a thought provoker!

    Reply
  21. Susan says:
    January 6, 2019 at 10:14 pm

    ache–percussion–blood–the signs or bi-products of affection are here opened up like a garden of ruses. What more could a poet want, indeed, than to know the whole world in all its foibles? Thank you.

    Reply
  22. Magical Mystical Teacher says:
    January 6, 2019 at 11:29 pm

    “love is a malady”—and a sweet one it is!

    Reply
  23. Rommy says:
    January 6, 2019 at 11:37 pm

    As poets, we forever are searching for that perfect way to express what we are feeling, but when it comes to expressing those thoughts that are the tenderest, it becomes more than a simple exercise in writing. It is a transcription of a heart beat onto paper.

    Reply
  24. Myrna says:
    January 7, 2019 at 3:51 am

    This is beautiful Sanaa. I love the yearning of an artist. The poet in you grows more and more wise and sensitive with each poem. That velvet affaire grows within you.

    Reply
  25. Linda Lee Lyberg says:
    January 7, 2019 at 3:53 am

    Your words always leave me breathless, Sanaa. They flow like music, so lovely.

    Reply
  26. gillena says:
    January 7, 2019 at 4:17 am

    Luv the intimation of surfeit in bread and wine. This carries many layers of meaning in wholesomeness.
    Happy New Year. Thanks for dropping by my sumie Sunday

    Much🎉love

    Reply
  27. Audrey M Howitt says:
    January 7, 2019 at 5:12 am

    Beautiful write Sanaa–so layered in emotion and imagery!

    Reply
  28. Chrissa says:
    January 7, 2019 at 5:21 am

    A visceral poem–from the shattered windows to the wine and bread providing an exquisite lift, this was a beautiful poem!

    Reply
  29. Sara McNulty says:
    January 7, 2019 at 9:29 am

    Thrilling music in words of love. A gorgeous poem, Sanaa!

    Reply
  30. Wendy Bourke says:
    January 7, 2019 at 9:30 am

    You have commenced the new year with, yet another, stunning piece of awesome writing, Sanaa.

    ‘a lump in the throat that we all crave’ … a fabulous bang-on-wish-I’d-written-that line. Who – on planet earth – could not TOTALLY GET those happy-sad-truth-of-it-all words?

    Reply
  31. dsnake1 says:
    January 7, 2019 at 9:00 pm

    what a lovely poem to start the New Year! 🙂

    Reply
  32. Susanne says:
    January 8, 2019 at 4:41 am

    “this velvet affair” – gorgeous emotional words – thank you for sharing!

    Reply

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