Starlight was a small Ketch I owned years ago. I used to sail her alone most of the time.




A Day With Starlight Solo

 

I greet her. She nods, Slowly, Imperiously.
Familiar, yet restrained.
I know her moods as she does mine.
She inclines to my touch.. softly...
We sense the change that is each other.
She is constant, always welcoming,
But with a newness, a freshness, that makes me smile.

Languidly she stretches. I clothe her; make her ready
as she immerses me in our shared liturgy.
And now.... we move.... in perfect time, 
Subtle measures, no movement in excess.
A product of long knowing and loving care.
Yet another exploration of who we are; together.

We challenge the other in subtle ways.
With great respect and laughing taunts.
Touching, tentatively the extents of the other.
Delightfully probing the boundaries.

We love publicly. In full view.
But with a veiled arcane intensity.
The sum of endless encounters.
Generations of lovers hopelessly bemused in the other.

A dance without form. We move
Effortlessly, without reserve or care.
The steps not planned; not written. 
Time is irrelevant. We exist in suspension;
Learning the dances and yearning for more.
From gentle waltz to passionate tango
We celebrate each other and the day.

Sated now.. 
We both begin the closing calm.
Slowly I dress her for sleep and quietly leave.
She, with a languid nod, warmed by the joys of the day.
I, clothed in memories of her.





Poetry by josephus The PoetBay support member heart!
Read 322 times
Written on 2021-07-23 at 01:51

dott Save as a bookmark (requires login)
dott Write a comment (requires login)
dott Send as email (requires login)
dott Print text


jim The PoetBay support member heart!
This is beautiful writing, Joe, and a joy to read.
2021-07-23


Lawrence Beck The PoetBay support member heart!
I have nothing to add to what the others have said. This is very nice.
2021-07-23


Jamsbo Rockda The PoetBay support member heart!
Personification in poetry is always hard. The suggestions alluded to must connect and give the reader the correct idea of the relationship involved. You have done it wonderfully. The dressing and clothing is like you are caring for a loving partner who cannot do these things for herself. A carer. I agree with Tom, it is one of your best.
2021-07-23


Steven Riddle
Bookmarked before I read the comments. And while like Caleb I have no personal
Experience of this, I think back to several versions of the same story with C. K. Dexter Haven and the True Live. As they said, “My she was yare.” Just like this poem.
2021-07-23



Joe, one of your best. This is about to be bookmarked! I think this is among the poems in which you trust your own voice completely. If I might be forgiven a paradox, there's a confident modesty here. You are concerned with (and successful at!) making the reader see what you see, feel what you feel, sense what you sense. There isn't anything in this poem that dissatisfies.
2021-07-23


Caleb Murdock
I've never done any sailing, so I can't relate to this poem personally, but I am impressed by the mature tenor of your writing, and your ability to form a mood in your poetry. Good poem with good development from beginning to end.
2021-07-23