Raven-Haired Ruth

One of those what would've, could've wonderings

 

Raven-Haired Ruth

 

Part I

Raven haired Ruth

lay ill,

leaning

on the bed edge,

tired, pale,

the air shadowed,

her single dorm

unwindowed,

light ivoried

from an old

lamp shade,

her pthalo blue

velour robe

tied snug,

her thoughtful mind

with ease to love,

to hold,

with her grow old,

though I’d

not know it then.

 

I stood to leave,

without a clue

that I could visit still

and Ruth rose too

to share a goodbye hug,

warm and close

smooth on blue velour

and eyes more a welcome

than farewell.

And still I parted

turned,

walked out her door.

 

Ruth remained a friend

despite this hug

not quite requited,

and when I saw her

another year

with black

waves of hair aglisten,

her deep quartette tones,

pitched high

in her excitement,

my fondness still

ran distant second

to my blindness

for romantic clues.

We were paired

shy and full delighted.

 

Dear Ruth moved on

to Boston,

then rural

Pennsylvania,

and though I dreamed

I’d follow her,

we never dreamed together.

 

Instead I moved

to Springfield,

then back on to NY.

married, urban

suburban style

a trained repairman

of life’s heartaches.

 

Part II

And if that blue hug

went hello

and the robe slipped open

off her back

what other life there’d be now?

Once nursed back to health

would we sing

the duet of our lives,

days and nights,

shy lovers growing

a quiet life,

writing our own story,

our children red

and raven haired,

showering our days with joy

and our nights with pain,

as the days and night

of our family’s

lives unfold?.

 

Would we be city folk

or my favored

country citizens,

me getting to gaze in Ruth’s dark eyes

beneath her black-framed specs,

while the sun sets in salmons and pinks

over purple fragrant hills,

us enfolded

on our porch swing,

our love flowing

on the dusk air?

 

And would we age in health?

In wealth? In happiness?

Well most of those I think,

to share a life

of vibrant color,

lovers singing

ahead of the songbirds

partnered on a path

traveled by few,

partnered in love.

 

Part III

So much power

for a hug not taken

and a Ruth

not known so well,

to launch happiness

from a single hug,

to vanquish

every should

and have to

that turns eyes

from fragrant sunsets..

 

A different choice,

wiser, rasher,

a wished for

different life.

from a time machine’s

second chance.

 

Reviews

[Benjamin L. Weekly]

Another of your lighter works that I am able to fully enjoy. As I endeavor to review all the pieces in the group, I have learned that the human being's ability to express love has no limit. Even though there are limited words in our dictionary, love will always be expressed through word and metaphor in different ways for all time, and with excelling beauty. This is one of those heartwarming expressions, though it is one partially of regret. I must point out three of your images that stood out to me as exceptional:

"while the sun sets in salmons and pinks
over purple fragrant hills,"
- The colors shown here are vibrant and powerful. The words "salmon" and "fragrant" are likely what sets this apart from similar expressions. Whatever the case, I enjoyed this picture.

"us enfolded
on our porch swing,"
- A great image. The word enfolded makes me think of them being inseparable, and that is always a heartwarming though.

"lovers singing
ahead of the songbirds"
- Must I say anything here? The thought of a lovers song rising above the masters of tune, the songbirds of the morning, is a euphoric image.

I do have a suggestion for you David. In the very beginning, it was unclear to me that the narrator was at Ruth's bedside with her, or why he was there. I had to stop and ponder, and I don't like to have to do that. Some clarification would add to the enjoyability. That aside, this poem made my eyes glisten. Well done.
- Tiger

[Krystal Waters]

I really liked this piece. Easy to read, not tripping over words. I would say this is a good prose poem and delightful! You painted a canvas for the reader as you wrote down what you saw in your mind.

Krystal