by Bill Yarrow
We're in a sedate forest next to
a boisterous beach. The sky is sea green
above the trees and forest green above
Sinepuxent Bay. Chaste squirrels are
keeping a lookout for bad-boy gulls.
Kids on circus bikes ride out of the woods
into their bathing suits. The breathy sweat
of exercise is indistinguishable from sandy
passion's sweat. We hear the shouts of bathers
all bubbly in the surf. A cloud the shape of
a manta ray terrorizes an empty sky. A group
of hikers sees us kissing in the open path.
All is as it ever was except you're still alive.
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A version of this poem was published in poeticdiversity and appears in "Critique of Pure Dreaming" (free download at academia.edu ).
epigraph:
“I woke up in between / a memory and a dream”
—Tom Petty, "You Don't Know How it Feels"
Yearning and regret - from the title to the powerful closing line:
"All is as it ever was except you're still alive."
The poem's balance is continually shifting through enjambments, alliteration, and rhythms in a masterful way. Strong piece, Bill.
The poem is beautiful and its accompanying ideas are provocative. *
Strong piece, Bill. Much enjoyed *
I love when writing takes me right to the place.
Then you have quality.*
Thank you, Sam, Ann, Fos, and Tim!
momentarily wordless here in admiration *
Thank you, Beate!
Excellence
I love the last line.
Thanks, Ivan! Thanks, Kitty!
*, Bill. Sam's capture of your amazing last line says it for me, too.
Thank you, David!
*
Thank you, Jenny!
I missed this, but happy I found it today. Beautiful, poignant impact.
Thank you, Dianne!