Tuesday, August 02, 2005

Deep into the Night, a Reminder

Deep into Saturday night, a friend reminded me that I once wrote poetry. That I once thought in images. That I once undertook to create beauty with words.

I do not why I stopped.

I attempted a beginning the following day and have precisely three lines to show for it. I am at once amused and disappointed by myself.

My muse will return to me... I am certain of it. I remember the passage from what was plainly catharsis to what I considered accomplishment. Times unnumbered, my pen ran dry and not merely of ink. Those were the days I used a fountain pen and lovely, lovely handmade paper books, full of criss-crosses, fresh starts and the joy of expression.

What follows is the particular bit of poetry (if I may presume to call it so) I am most proud of. It came of great love, both given and taken, a time of joy... and a time of parting.

Of You and I

Beautiful, beautiful summer,
Evaporating faster than vodka.
Like ghosts in the fragile dawn,
Memories emerge to speak to me.

Speak to me...
Of evenings of Irish Coffee.

Drowning along the water's edge,
I watch...
Panoramas of Elves, Men and Halflings unfold.

Frustrating, unintelligible letters
Become intimacy within smoke circles.

Around us, the silence is gray.
The silence is a pebble in my mouth.
You touch me... and smile.

I turn - to return to you.

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

Speak to me... of evenings of Irish Coffee.

..

Panoramas of Elves, Men and Halflings unfold.


Reminds me of a lovely evening in Dehradun I spent all by myself. Thanks for this piece and may there by many more.

./w

i-me-moi said...

Can someone please tell me what ./w means?

Once the Conman said...

Awesome... absolutely awesome...

the cowlick said...

it's beautiful.. you should write more often. It's sad how much life takes away from us.. and we get too busy to even notice..

Anonymous said...

u know what the last line means in my language??

"ne venu tirigaa,

tirigi nee darina cheradaniki..."

This is what we call, "madhuramaina kavitvam"

(btw, I still don't know where to end the inverted commas, before the fullstpo or after it)

:-0 ) P

Extempore said...

@Wanderer: Am very glad you liked it. :)

@ Sprechen: ./w is Wanderer's way of signing off. :)

@Conman: Thanks so much!

@The Cowlick: My blog is my way of writing more often. Poetry will follow. Thanks so much!

@Anon: One day, you are going need to teach me that lang of yours so that I understand what you are saying half the time! :P

Anonymous said...

Sure,

I will...

;-0 ) P

Martin said...

I have been reading your posts from the newest down to this one. It seems to me that if you are writing poetry or not writing poetry you are still "undertook to create beauty with words."

- Martin

Extempore said...

@Luz de la Luna: Truly Martin, you are too kind. :)