From The Gutter To The Jewel In The Lotus

She has the radio on in the other room,

and the words invade her train of thought.

Then, her beauty queen cat, black as pitch,

meows; and her moon eyes beg for treats.

The train derails, and she loses it all.

 

The oak leaves softly sway outside the window

as she seeks inspiration in glints of gold.

It hovers in the distance creating shadow and light

as she stands on the landing spilling poignancy

down steep steps of moss-skinned stone.

 

The pulse of summer is silent

as the heat presses down on the collarbone of a climber,

a full-blown flaming torch rising from her rosy mouth.

She is reminded of Neruda’s Garden and Quixote:

"puntual, el nacimiento de una rosa."

 

She emerges a pillar of alabaster between the pines,

her eyes following the wind’s sweet promise

as it blows through her hair towards tomorrow,

taking with it the dandepuff dalliance,

parachuting into the quiet hush with wistful grace.

 

Selene poses before her, lures the free lance,

and builds a stage for competition and composition.

There is brightness and a faint movement of dust

as she kicks up her heels, pulls flecks and specks from sky,

and culls the substance of everything until she is finished.

 

Between bites of blackened chicken and saffron rice,

she scribes, scribbles, sanctifies, and solidifies.

Every leaf and petal, every stem and stone is overturned.

She strokes her silken strand of raspberry pearls

as she delves deaf deep into the water of words.

 

Between Eve’s Ribs and Jezebel’s Hips,

she battles CrowWoman and MudGirl.

She -the Raspberry Girl- battling

The Girls with Red Hair on Cherry Cadillacs with Bushido Swords.

She came From the Gutter to the Jewel in the Lotus.

 

Numbness passes for peace for some,

but she knows the difference between calm and calamity.

Her quarry is made of evergreen moments.

The fires of her mind are Masamune steel -

the Honjo Nihonto, curving into mythos.

 

She was crafted, fallen from the air,

forged in the gutter of a ruined hull,

discerning, learning, turning, and burning.

She erupted, resting upon the moon’s knees,

then glinted into the jewel in the lotus.

 

A mad girl, a mud girl, a mighty, magic thing:

she scintillates from the river’s throat of song.

From the temple windows of her eyes, she watches,

winking out of the darkness like stars;

and the moon becomes full, for he has just fallen in love.

Author's Note

This poem was written specifically for Selene’s Surreal Poetry Writing Contest.

From The Gutter To The Jewel In The Lotus

Reviews

[NoneOfYourBusiness akaK..]

oh let me catch my breath~ from the first I could see every sequence laid out on perfect pitch and wildly painted hues~ herein I see the woman made of snowflakes but with such strong substance underneath disgorging beautiful ink tendrils from her fingertips on the stage of world~ word as a stage~ creating dimensional shifts with magikal words insctibed~ this is the very essence of the conjoined creative process~ twinned between pleats of here and there bending together on that magnificent tapestry of the collective human unconscious brought to fruition through poetic fluidity with such refined grace~
I truly felt pulled through~ bending over your shoulder as you wrote each line~ what a gem like sequence of events describing the conception of literary creation~ I am honored that you entered and dazzled by your lush and limitless imagination which you obviously poured with such passion into the write~

[RTB]

for being a long poem it kept my attention the story behind it was new and good overall good

[Hollow Man]

I felt that the two first stanzas were weak in comparison to the rest of the poem. BUT my god when you found your voice and comfort in the second stanza on, I was blown away. I"m diggin the allusions as well. Great job

[Ruth]

Awesome!
You have done a brilliant job:) Surreal to a T and justice to Selene's work!
Excellent poem love
xx

[Joshua Donahue]

so beautiful! you have just made me a fan of your work. this is an extravagantly well-written piece with perfect imagery and mood setters!! love it!

[Pax Analog]

I'm happy to see this ode to Selene's work, of which I'm very fond.

Because I especially love her "ninja movement" I'm drawn by this "hinge" in your poem, picking up on the sword-forging:

Numbness passes for peace for some,
but she knows the difference between calm and calamity.
Her quarry is made of evergreen moments.
The fires of her mind are Masamune steel -
the Honjo Nihonto, curving into mythos.

Then you scintillatingly drive home the creation myth:

She was crafted, fallen from the air,
forged in the gutter of a ruined hull,
discerning, learning, turning, and burning.
She erupted, resting upon the moon’s knees,
then glinted into the jewel in the lotus.

A mad girl, a mud girl, a mighty, magic thing:
she scintillates from the river’s throat of song.
From the temple windows of her eyes, she watches,
winking out of the darkness like stars;
and the moon becomes full, for he has just fallen in love.

Excellent celebration of an excellent poet. A true poetic communion. To some degree, we are always honoring the universal stream of poetry and prose by our efforts. It's a special pleasure to see this up close and directly, one brilliant poet honoring another.

Inspirational!

[.]

"Numbness passes for peace for some,
but she knows the difference between calm and calamity.
Her quarry is made of evergreen moments."
( love this )

this poetry is expressive with delicious imagery-God i love it!!!
and you just get lost in every lavish surreal verse...Great Poem!!!

james:-)

[Antonio Valentino]

Oh gosh, this was the perfect storm of beauty and magic! Linda, you and Selene are both brilliant, and for you to paint this picture of both your minds and spirits, is exquisitely genius.

This was absolutely gorgeous!
I bow to both your amazing talent!

Antonio xx

[Robin]

again all of the elements of art woven beautifully , the insight, the tones, the images, that distance the horizons of our imagination .