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lighthouse




the moon has drawn
across your chest
a path, 
a gateway,
an airstrip,
a sliver of light under a bolted door,
a weakness underlined,
a hurdle,
a wall
the urgent, naked glow of opportunity?
or
the dim fluorescent nuisance of an object out of reach
you sleep soundly
as i fight the pull of the tide
exhausted
i put my hand on your chest
a silver, white shoreline
swim parallel

Rene Foran ~ July 2010

Comments

  1. Brian MillerJuly 25, 2010 at 10:04 PM

    i'd say there is probably going to be fog on the water, what with all the heat...smiles. nice write.

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  2. Casey FreelandJuly 25, 2010 at 11:45 PM

    I love the image of swimming parallel along the silver shore. Your imagination is astounding.

    Casey

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  3. Irish GumboJuly 25, 2010 at 11:55 PM

    a sliver of light under a bolted door...

    As an architect, I'm a sucker for a well-turned phrase that invokes building pieces, and light.

    Marvelous.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Feisty CroneJuly 25, 2010 at 11:56 PM

    cool words!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Chuck DilmoreJuly 26, 2010 at 7:14 AM

    Rene,
    you are
    soo very good at this.

    i'd rather read you than
    any other famous literary poet...
    but now they are in good company!

    of you.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Fred MillerJuly 26, 2010 at 10:58 AM

    You write like a student I had about twenty years ago when I was young and dumb. Had to ace her and get her out of my life before I did something stupid. Outstanding!

    TheFredEffect

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  7. Vodka MomJuly 26, 2010 at 8:46 PM

    oh Rene I really LOVED that one.

    You are an amazing spirit.......

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  8. Joanna JenkinsJuly 27, 2010 at 12:00 AM

    What a way with words.
    Beautiful,
    jj

    ReplyDelete
  9. cheatymoonJuly 27, 2010 at 10:50 AM

    That is beautiful.

    Appropriate for the full moon. xo

    ReplyDelete
  10. Ann ImigJuly 27, 2010 at 7:23 PM

    Swim parallel.

    If that isn't the perfect metaphor for marriage I don't know what is.

    Are you still breathing? Hope so. Swimming, swimming, ...

    ReplyDelete
  11. GinnyJuly 27, 2010 at 8:30 PM

    Rene, this is another outstanding poem. You are truly talented, and I'd like to place an advance order for your book now!! (Let me know as soon as you decide on the price ... I think I'll take 5 copies, actually.)

    ReplyDelete
  12. justsomethoughts...July 28, 2010 at 8:53 AM

    *plink*

    incredible.

    hopeless
    hopeful
    resigned
    contemplative
    promising

    all in how many words ?

    ReplyDelete
  13. Linda Bob Grifins Korbetis HallSeptember 20, 2010 at 6:54 PM

    Dear Rene:

    your poetry is super delicious,
    love the perspective here,
    rich texture and beautiful sentiments,
    they make your work real and magical at the same time.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Victoria Ceretto-SlottoSeptember 21, 2010 at 4:44 PM

    I don't think my first comment posted...I love the visuals in this poem and enjoyed your "About me..." confessions, too. Looking forward to reading more of your work.

    ReplyDelete
  15. KavitaSeptember 22, 2010 at 1:54 AM

    This was THE perfect definition of "you know what"!
    Neatly put, Rene...
    "a sliver of light under a bolted door,
    a weakness underlined," -- totally loved these lines in particular... they held a LOT of meaning hidden in them... phheew!

    Thank you so much for linking this beautiful poem with poetry potluck, R... I hope you had/ar having a great time at the potluck! :)

    ReplyDelete
  16. FireblossomMay 15, 2011 at 4:45 PM

    Hmm yeah, "objects in the bedroom may be further away than they appear"?

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  17. Everyday GoddessMay 15, 2011 at 5:03 PM

    this feels so intimate and real.

    ReplyDelete
  18. AnonymousMay 15, 2011 at 5:07 PM

    Sensational take on marriage/relationship. Amazing demonstration of taking an object (in this case, a flash of light across your partner's chest) and picking it up and running away with it in terms of likening it to something else- more difficult to do than I first imagined any time that I have tried. Your imagination is vast. Great prompt response.

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  19. dustusMay 15, 2011 at 5:43 PM

    What an imaginative and intimate prelude to slumbers. So cool how you wrote this with such well crafted projections and conjecture.

    ReplyDelete
  20. JinksyMay 15, 2011 at 5:54 PM

    It's not only light houses that light up the world...words can do it too!

    ReplyDelete
  21. hedgewitchMay 15, 2011 at 6:06 PM

    Last line is perfect.

    ReplyDelete
  22. RegCPA5963May 15, 2011 at 7:32 PM

    Beautiful imagery being used here! I liked the flow as well

    ReplyDelete
  23. VictoriaMay 15, 2011 at 8:13 PM

    Saw that I'd commented on this way back. Read it again as though it was the first time. Great match to the prompt.

    ReplyDelete
  24. Sharon RoseMay 15, 2011 at 9:24 PM

    This is a beautiful metaphor of love and marriage.

    ReplyDelete
  25. Ann GrenierMay 15, 2011 at 9:52 PM

    Great response with your focus on the horizon. Such an imaginative combination of the images/elements in the photo. I love it!

    ReplyDelete
  26. MargaretMay 16, 2011 at 12:31 AM

    Inread it three times and enjoyed it more each time. There is a lot for me to learn from here.

    ReplyDelete
  27. Alegria ImperialMay 16, 2011 at 3:31 AM

    I love hos it builds up to the last two lines...perfect, masterfully written!

    ReplyDelete

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