Strategic Goodbyes

Strategic Goodbyes

 

 

Here where we both

Lay

Overcome and empty

Spent as cartridge shells

And discarded  

Upon a deserted beach

Somewhere   

Where even gulls are silent

And

Where only wind now

Scythes these sun-bleached

Shoreline grasses

Those

That once served as a

Shield from prying eyes

And glances

Here where strategic lies

Were told

And you did overcome

Your

Desperate fear of dying

That though

Was long ago when lives

Were cheap as chips

And scarcer

Than your kisses ever were

Today

I remember cold lips

Pressed hard  

Against eye lids and cheeks

Surely now

There can be no turning back

Toward

That once special place

Nor yearning 

For that would make a mockery

Of every one of our previous goodbyes ..

Reviews

[jacob erin-cilberto]

I just recently watched "The Birds" again. Good old Alfred and his gulls.
the spent cartridge shells, the war reference and the goodbyes, one after another in those days.
the imagery is startling....
cold lips...trusting made so hard, lives as cheap as chips....but you can't have just one.
j.

[Neville]

Funny what we get up too during these testing times... many thanks for sticking to some of ya old routines Jacob... cheers sir

N.

[Chris Shaw]

There is a cold wind blowing across that beach with its tall grasses shielding places where maybe the climate would once have been much warmer. Strategic goodbyes, they are never easy. Whether abrupt or drawn out the pain is still there. Maybe the strategy was for damage limitation, who knows. Beautifully descriptive and touches deeply Neville.

Chris

[Neville]

Good mane Chris and thanks for the kind comment, as always appreciated & true :)
Neville

[Fay Slimm]

Another read of this telling memory so aptly underlines the reasons for that final line - -- sometimes it takes more than one goodbye to realize love, despite "special places" has had its day. I was there on that "deserted beach " and listening to sadness as it tried turning back......... emotive piece Nev.

[Neville]

thank you ever so much Fay... hope you have a great weekend... Neville

[Lorry]

Lays, lies and goodbyes... Repeat until the memories soften and all the rough edges have been eroded in rose-tinted, soft focus almost reminiscences.
I know my image will differ from your intended message Nev, but there is a helluva lot of thistles round here 😀

[Neville]

och so I hear... Come to the land of the prickly heather
if ya wear a kilt keep ya knees together
Or ye may ne e ever come back agen ken

Cheers n all that jazz Lorry .. Hope you aint had a cold or nuffin........ 😀

[Lorry]

No, fit as an old fiddle. Just a bit swamped by work shenanigans, moving us hither and thither. If it wasn't for satnav, I'd be looking for a grown up to tell them I'm lost 😀

[Neville]

you need never feel lust with satnev my friend ... x

[barleygirl]

As I first delve into your intriguing description of two people lying in the aftermath of "whatever" . . . I get the distinct sensation we're viewing the devastated beaches of Normandy. Wow! I've felt pretty ragged a time or two at the end of a grueling session, but this might be a tad more intense than what I used to call: "being rode hard & put up wet"! I love this gnarly outpouring! (((CRUD))) Fondly, Margie

[Neville]

Bless ya Margie and mightily too mind.. (BANGs) fondly, Neville :)

[emmajoy]

' Upon a deserted beach - Somewhere - Where even gulls are silent - And - Where only wind now -
Scythe these sun-bleached = Shoreline grasses.. ''

Today has been one of calm reading.. or finding what is - as here. hidden. This is gentleness birthed from an amazingly powerful setting. Fine poetry, Mr. P. and more than.

[Neville]

thank you kindly emma, I am glad you had a calm reading day today, we all need those every now and again .. funny isn't it.. the only reason I resurrected these words today was after visiting my own very special place earlier, because I now can and in the hope of further inspiration.. emmajoy the rest of your day.

Neville

[emmajoy]

It's been a restful day, perhaps the searching rather than the give and take.. We all need spaces.. or space..and words sometimes point the way,

[Rye]

Wow! this one is really good, I like the imagery in this write

[Neville]

you really are most kind and I thank you for it.....

[chrysantheranium]

I can feel the weight beared behind each line here... Even when a feeling or understanding is mutual it can be desperately difficult to find the right closure before shutting the door behind you. There's always this aftertaste of hope, a thought that trails in the back of your head that's whispering, "Don't go yet" or "Say something more." But the silence and the lack of warmth behind each touch is the most painful and final way of closing the door, and in some cases, is inevitable. I hope that you found warmer shores to explore after the chill of the silence fled the tides.

Also, the lines "Where even gulls are silent" and "... When lives / Were cheap as chips / And scarcer / Than your kisses ever were" are so tragically stunning. Wonderful wordplay, my friend! This one's going in the Favorites list.

[Fay Slimm]

Oooooh - - movingly good and better than best -- first rate emotive write Nev.......

[Neville]

Thanks million Fay....Your literary friend, Me :)

[Fay Slimm]

Yup - thas darn right . an' your poetic pardner is Me :)

[R J Askew]

I love ‘spent as cartridge cases’ it’s so aptly vivid and active. Also ‘where even gulls are silent’ underscores the sense of finality. Poignant stuff.

[Neville]

That'll do nicely, very nicely sir.. Thank you and truly... Oh' and stay both safe and well out there.

Neville