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ii. praying for dew
by Richard Paez
long lost days
are long lost days
but i wonder
{if you feel this now
like i feel this now}
hindsight is
the lazy backstroke
that parts placental waters
~
i still feel
your sweet sin
soaking my skin
{like a dream
i cannot wake from}
like the endless span
of new-green cloudless skies
up though which i fall ~
your gravity is stronger
than anything
i've ever known
you pull me pull me
stretch me in
ways i've never known
till all is distorted
{by your agonizing
honesty}
i remember
long-lost mid-nights
and magnetized flesh
{oh, the gravity of hindsight
pulls me in}
take another
boiling shower
wash away our memory ~
but your gravity is stronger
than anything
i've ever known
you pull me pull me
stretch me in
ways i've never known
please
{strip away
these hopeless moments}
i crumble now, finally
the four-legged god
you once envisioned
{all instinct,
all hindsight, i}
crawl away now
dog and demon now
amoebae and angel ~
but your gravity is stronger
than anything
i've ever known
you pull me pull me
stretch me in
ways i've never known
till i am hopeless
{longing,
sweetly dreaming of}
those long lost days
those longing days
and i wonder
{will you remember?}
{those who pray for dew
at the edge of the desert
will bring forth the deluge} | 06/20/2003 Author's Note: In a very off and round-about way this is about the (former) use of hallucinogenic substances and techniques. The former-lover overtones are accurate in that certain experiences have the 'touch' and 'lingering' of an intimate other- the kind of longing that years later strikes you at odd moments.
The final three lines are those of The Preacher from The Children Of Dune by Frank Herbert. He warns against the folly of following prophets, of using religion, myth and visions to control the people. I wonder what Muadib would think of the way the high priests of my mind have managed to control the once-noble nomads of my cells, gland ducts, and nerve endings...
Posted on 06/20/2003
Copyright © 2024 Richard Paez
| Member Comments on this Poem |
| Posted by Betania Tesch on 06/20/03 at 04:31 PM mmm if nothing else, it reminds me that I'm trying to quit smoking and makes me feel stir crazy. *smiles softly* it's strange how we put these things into our body and suddenly they take on a life of their own...more important than ours, sometimes. |
| Posted by Marjorie Anne Reagan on 06/21/03 at 04:32 PM Erotic and imaginative. This explains why simple is not always good. Possibly? |
| Posted by JD Clay on 06/21/03 at 06:51 PM Captivating poetry, Malachi. I like the seductive stream of thought and the charismatic voice you've given this elusive piece. Questing for due? Quenching, quite quenching.
Peace... |
| Posted by David R Spellman on 06/24/03 at 07:16 PM You can almost feel the draw of the addiction in this piece, continuing to call and scratch at the deepest part of the being trying to fight it off. The use of and reference to Herbert's "Dune" also strikes a chord with me as it is a long time favorite of mine. As always, very evocative... well done! |
| Posted by Bob Arcania on 07/07/03 at 10:57 PM this drew me in and certainly delivered. i loved it. when i read the end lines i thought to myself that it sounds like something from dune, and was excited to see that it was from dune. |
| Posted by Max Bouillet on 07/08/03 at 03:57 AM Philosophical and spiritual... a wonderfully articulated chaos. |
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