Tuesday, August 19, 2008

on your birthday

One
I would swallow my heart
today if I could-
be your best friend

and make you a strawberry cake
or a chess pie

sing

light your candles
watch you make a wish
(not about me of course)
and blow them out

your lips would be pursed
as you blew
I'd watch them

you'd have a piece of cake in one hand
a glass of whiskey in the other

the lines on your face
would get soft with a grin
and your shoulders would rise

and fall as you'd make
those noises you can't help making
when you laugh

spontaneous sounds
always a crescendo then a decrescendo
part of your symphony that has always
bewitched me

Two
today (on your birthday)
I almost ran off the road looking at
blackbirds flying in a V formation

we were in the blank space
you in the corner of the V
me at the opening

8 comments:

JKA said...

Now those are birthday poems. Fun/sexy/with a hint of something beneath the surface. Great stuff. (I really like the blackbird image.)

Anonymous said...

Great detail in the description of the laughter and the V as a symbol is excellent.

holly said...

thanks guys...you are kind...more broken-heart poetry...now there's impetus for you...and yes, I couldn't get those birds out of my mind after I saw them

Anonymous said...

Oh, dangit...everybody beat me to my favorite part...ha! I love those blackbirds and the V formation. I also love the lines softening on his face, and all those other sadly sweet details. Beautiful work!

Cynthia said...

Excellent, Holly! Layered, the
reader is kept wondering "who".
Your details give the poem
a touchable quality. And the last
verse, open to many interpretations.

holly said...

Thank you so much Julie, Cynthia.
You are always such great close readers!

Anonymous said...

Holy moly, that second poem is fantastic, one is lovely but two is something else, such strong, strong imagery. Sorry, I've got to stop saying holy moly, I sound like some sixties cartoon superhero. Don't know where I got it from either. Anyway, I love the second.

holly said...

thanks so much Jo