Nine Mile Love

Accompany me, Bob Marley.

1.

Oh woman

You, with the candles in your eyes

 Like fire on the finger of a god 

Could you bleed me into a palette

and paint your face in the sky?

 

2.

I feel like a scaled-creep

With my mug waist-deep in cheap rum

A smoking scarecrow between whittled fingers

Shot eyes, whistling Marley

‘Stay with me- stay’

But it’s no use

There’s someone yo-yoing needles

Out by the cold backdoor of my heart

And I can feel the shadow of your skin

Somewhere in my hand

Somewhere deep, so deep-

 

3.

How about this-

We slow-dance under a ripe moon

The kind you find hanging in the corner of a Monet

 A Bahia, a Valencia, with flushed skin

And you bury your body in mine

And I sink mine into yours

And the ocean rolls us up in salt and air

And you let the reggae twist your toes

‘Little darling stir it up-

Little darling stir it up’

Then, when we think the cosmos have broke

I lean into your carriage and slip on a glass shoe.

 

4.

Oh woman

You, with the satin backdrop

And the dark room, where you drip beauty onto clay

Can I hum something for you?

Could I tear my fingers on the razor wire of this guitar?

I swear, I’ll bleed only reggae and love.

Reviews

[Coyote Poetry]

Poem is amazing. You took me everywhere in this poem. from the first lines you had my attention. A outstanding story in your words. Ending was very good. So many lines jump at me in this poem. A excellent poem. Thank you.
Coyote