“What is a breath, if not the ghost we give to the night?”
A breath slips through the blackened windows,
soft as a lover’s hand,
tracing the curve of my nape.
The streets bleed their amber lamplight
onto my skin,
while mist,
a silent storyteller
offers secrets he refuses to keep—
I have tasted your sighs— bitter
and sweet—
like wine poured over iron,
the wind carries
your name through the hollow of my chest.
O night!
Your velvet hands pull me closer, as
I drift
into the pulse of your shadow, where desire
coils like smoke,
and I am swallowed by your sighs.
Your eyes—dark lanterns—
harbor the hunger of hidden storms.
Your lips, soft yet sharp,
curve
like a language I am told to circumvent,
I linger there, unwilling to leave.
Stars shatter in silver bursts,
and I press my lips to the shards,
asking—
will you burn me
or let me linger in your cold embrace?
A breath.
A shiver.
The heart is a clandestine flame,
and I,
an echo of desire,
fade into the hush of your name.
Photo credits: Pinterest
Loosely inspired by the writing style of French Poet Arthur Rimbaud, I will be reading this on Saturday 💛
Posted for Open Link Night #397 (December Live) @dVerse Poets Pub
32 Responses
What a wonderful description of desire… and I wonder if he would ever keep up his part to make it fullfilled.
Precisely!
Thank you so much, Bjorn 😀 so glad the poem resonated with you 💄❤️
The heart may indeed be a clandestine flame, but you expose yours here beautifully, Nice work, Saana. Thanks.
Thank you so much, Ron 😀 so glad you liked it 💄❤️
Beautiful imagery. A lovely poem, the reader becomes as enamored as they are. Kudos, you did what every Poet does naturally, pull us in and make us part of the imagery and story.
Thank you so much, Heather 😀 so glad you enjoyed it 💄❤️
Lovely!
❤️❤️❤️
So beautiful, Sanaa! One of your best–you hooked me with the opening stanza. Truly gorgeous writing.
Thank you so much, Merril 😀 so glad the poem resonated with you 💄❤️
Beautiful images throughout, Sanaa. Well done.
Thank you so much, Dwight 😀 so glad you liked it 💄❤️
Sanaa, your poem is luscious! I melted when reading this: “I drift into the pulse of your shadow, where desire coils like smoke, and I am swallowed by your sighs.” You have a unique talent for taking us with you on these sensuous journeys.
Thank you so much, my dearest Helen 😘 so glad you enjoyed it 💄❤️
I love your dreamy poetry Sanaa. It is such a pleasure to read it ❤️☺️
Thank you so much, Christine 😀 so glad you liked it 💄❤️
Amazing imagery, Sanaa
Much♡love
❤️❤️❤️
An toke and invocation of dragon night worthy of Mallarmé. Linger, dare.
Thank you so much, Brendan 😀 so glad the poem resonated with you 💄❤️
A return to form for our very own Queen of the romantic quandary, Sanaa, gorgeously rendered…
Thank you so much, Andrew 😀 so glad you liked it 💄❤️
This is so lush and palpable. And I love the lines:
“the wind carries
your name through the hollow of my chest”
What a lovely love and lust poem. You have a true talent for bringing out in the open these instantly recognizable feelings that (for me at least) are so very difficult to put into words.
Aww gosh! Thank you so much, Kim 😀 so glad you enjoyed it 💄❤️
What beautiful imagery, Sanaa. Your words are alive!
Thank you so much, Imelda 😀 so glad you liked it 💄❤️
Oh my goodness! That close is divine. <3
Thank you so much, Jennifer 😀 so glad the poem spoke to you 💄❤️
Saana, your words simply flow! I love this so much (I think I melted).
“O night!
Your velvet hands pull me closer, as
I drift
into the pulse of your shadow, where desire
coils like smoke,
and I am swallowed by your sighs.”
This is sheer bliss! Amazing writing. 💖
Thank you so much, Colleen 😀 so glad you enjoyed it 💄❤️
Even the title..even the use of French…everything is there, and goodness, the stanza before the last, the shards, magical, that hint of self-inflicted pain.
Am not sure I have read anything like this. Stunned.
Thank you so much, Ain 😀 so glad the poem resonated with you 💄❤️