This poem is inspired by two lines, the end couplet, which I had scribbled down in 2009, in my volume of writing notes. I rediscovered them this winter, and wanted to use them since. This is the time. I do not remember if they are mine.
emblazoned in my mind
the sun fresh on the horizon
my eyes follow your graceful silhouette
moving away from me
the taste of you
sweet on my lips
my gaze held fast
until there was nothing
just the rising sun
that segued our tender night
to the promise of another
but promises
are so frail and fleeting
like the brittle leaves of autumn
like tears of joy
like the taste of you
sweet on my lips
if you are lucky
you will carry one night with you
~ ~ ~
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Ah, Stevie Nicks! Perfect choice to accompany this poem … this bittersweet poem.
Thank you Helen, I thought her melancholy was just perfect… 😉
Beautiful in its melancholy, Rob.
Thank you Lisa… 🙂
wistful wishing at it’s best … so delicate
Thank you Kate. 🙂
Great music piece to go with your beautiful poem. A great twist to a broader perspective.
Thank you Dwight, always appreciate your words.
So good Rob. A fine progression from bliss to knowing, to regret, made more so by the repetition of ‘the taste of you’ in the third stanza. This is so different from the first stanza: it feels like the poet is hanging on to that one sensual image – then a breath then comes the wise, resigned coda.
Thank you Peter. I enjoy the melancholy, and I think I personally have reached the time in my life where I am resigned to the regret the years have amassed — perhaps that informs my writing more than I realize… but I own it.
This poem was on my lips… and its sweetness had a bit of bite to it, Rob. And, yes, I feel quite lucky to have read it.
Thank you,
David
David, you are always so kind and generous with your words — thank you my friend. 🙂
Stevie Nicks and Rob Kistner – a great combination! I love the way you begin with an afterimage that has yet to dim, shifts to a silhouette that disappears into the rising sun, which had me wondering if it was real or a dream. The turn surprised me, the flat and fleeting promises ‘like the brittle leaves of autumn’ and the ambiguity of the final line – an honest promise or irony?
First of all. Thank you Kim for your mindful visits, you always share authentically — I genuinely appreciate that. I wanted the reader to ask — did they ever meet again? if not, why not? If a promise was broken, who broke it? Does the line “until there was nothing” a hint that there may have been an unexplained disappearance — maybe a death? Was the initial meeting as described herein real or imagined. The final couplet, where was that one night of bliss, if it were real, carried – in the heart, in the memory, to the grave? So many questions I wanted to leave the reader with, so they could fabricate an extrapolation of the facts, as they perceived them, to embrace their personal interpretation of the poem. And I love the brilliant emotionality of Stevie’s “Landslide”. It takes me on a tearful trip into the depth of beautiful, powerful melancholy — like an intoxicating escape into my psyche. For me, one of her finest works, and one of the mosst engaging songs ever written. Understanding the history of Stevie and Lindsey, this acoustic duet, this particular performance is full of so much honesty, love, sadness, tenderness, regret — the beauty of the melancholy is heart rending. Lindsey’s playing is so gentle and mournful, and amazing — matching note for note Stevie’s soul. I shed tears whenever I hear this particular timeless duet.
Here and gone. But always here. Nicely turned, Rob. And the song choice…perfecto.
Ron, I look forward to your visits to Image & Verse. Your are always kind and genuinely witty, with a dash of ironic spice my friend. Thank you for stopping to spend a moment… 🙂
Melancholy, but there’s also wistful tenderness here, too. Nicely done turn, as well.
Thank you Merril! 🙂
I love your love poems Rob. Truly a gift you have.
Thank you Xan, very much… 🙂
So much left hanging in the air – melancholy, regrets, what might have been…a fine poem with a great ending!
Thank you Ingrid… 🙂 …and we can’t forget, they shared one amazing, beautiful, and tender night — it is what the poet feels lucky to have had, and to carry forward into life/?\death.
This has a bittersweet feel to it. Such potential thrown into question, as if no resolution is ever known.
🙂
That was amazing, the fleetong sense of sunset, the wonders of the night, the autumn leaves, the turns were breathtaking!
Thank you so much M. Jay… 🙂
This is beautifully melancholic, Rob! 🙂 Great choice of music to accompany this gem.
Thank you Sanaa… 🙂
Oh that melancholy… but still a memory to hang on to… it feels like a memory to return to … over and over.
Love that melancholy — the shadow of truly felt love… 🙂
The repetition of ‘taste of you…’ was very effective in this bittersweet poem. Well done.
Thank you D! 🙂