The Poetry of Bruce Lewis #4

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Woman III

 

Then it came to me that you couldn’t protect me from the rain.
Instead your care turned into a mist
Which then enshrouded the whole earth

I knew that you had begun gradually disappearing
As August faded into September
The way the orange brown soles of your feet curled

Once I was your possession and did as I was told
Where are you now?
Snow disappearing into asphalt.

And everything in the sky is low and full of snow, and the snow—
Making everything white—híd you.
Every one of you.

When was that moment when you cast me adrift?
To finally say: „Go. You are no longer me.”

 

Woman IV ( dream)

In the summer twilight
I’m running away from
The misty lights
Of home

God is a young mother ( or father?)
Letting me walk for the first time--
Used to my falling--
Down to the flowing creek
And the faint smell
Of the Sea.

I run my hand over your broad shoulders
Frogs jump into the waters
Mosquitos swarm in the last light
Alighting like drops of water
On my scaly skin

Sucking my blood
In the mud
Beside the water
I squat and drink from my hand

In the small of my back
There is an ecstasy
The path is scored with deer track
My mother’s calls grow fainter
As I walk
Knowing I bear the seed of the whole world.

 

 

 

 


Woman V ( inner dialogue)

O my sweet sweet youth
Where did you go?
Like a fickle lover you stooped
To gather your things
And tiptoed out the door
In the early morning light.

O my sweet sweet youth
Once, with a handful of hair
I brought your lips to mine
Whenever I wanted
Now I lie alone in bed
With only the memory of those kisses

 

The Old Neighborhood

This street corner--
It’s taken on the shape of my old sorrow
When my heart used to rise to the dome
Of the Basilika
In a sudden gust of pidgeons

The only solution was dissipation.
„ Guilt dissapates,” said my chum
In consolation.

The old life is a dream
Isnt it?

The sleeping homeless
Wrapped in a white sheet
On my old street
-- He’s dreaming it for me now