a midnight prayer
leave yr revolver
on the nightstand yr tongue
in the back of
yr warrior mouth
tonight, i pray the rattle of these steady lungs
to be a revolutionary’s lullaby. i pray these misfit
bodies to tell no lies.
i pray your hesitation of my body not to be a dare,
nor your flickering attention
a job well done; i pray your dusty bones
to cry out for me, i pray for me
to let them dead
i pray for desire to do something – anything –
but burn the back of my throat
i pray for movement. i pray for settling.
i pray these loud, genius bodies
to be called home.
body, i pray for the ventilator to hum
us something even sweeter
than silence.
(breath).
thanks for the encouragement S. A good friend once told me during an asthma attack to “just breathe, JUST ONLY Breathe.” and I was mad at her for limiting me to that, but she named her yoga practice “breathing is life” and when it comes to the many aspects of life, like the sexual complex sentient beings we try to be… we must keep breathing and focussing on different breaths as they pass. Blessed be, for each breath, rapid or slow, thru a tube or chapped lips or an iron lung or two collapsed red ones…at least we’re on this air- and water-filled planet together living and sharing.
Tea
3 Jun 11 at 10:44 PM
Such excellent, fully present poetry! Thank you for sharing this poetry written, it feels to me, with all the body’s tissues and sharing the sounds of the heart, exclamations of discovery and re-discovery, and the lovely, dependable accompaniment of breath.
Hope DeRogatis
6 Jul 11 at 11:58 AM
Vivid and full of emotion …
Lafemmeroar
14 Jul 11 at 12:43 PM
Now that is just beautiful. I very rarely find poetry I love so much. It is written to be said and has a really lovely balance to it.
I dont understand “i pray for me
to let them dead” so well but the poem as a whole is beautifully vivid and rich with feeling.
(sorry for the critique- you are a very good writer)
Ruth
18 Aug 11 at 3:07 PM
♥
Christina
29 Oct 11 at 5:03 PM