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Cover Library Poetry A Hot January

High Walls and other poems

Duane Locke
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HIGH WALLS
Flabbergasted by the guests, my enemies,
The enemies have keys to the gate.
I crawled here to see the sea,
No one can see the sea unless behind these high walls.
I wade into the shallows, find sea horses,
A fish, vermilion, swims through dark green seaweed.
I watch waves leap back and forth,
I look back over my shoulder to see high walls.
ALONE WITH WINE ON THE GULF
The gulf goes towards us,
Then goes away,
Leaves from its depths, a bouquet,
Gold, globular, berries between
Gold leaves on a golden stem,
Seaweed speckled with sand,
Each grain has known
The mysteries of the gulf’s bottom.
I gaze at the grains, see through their skin.
In the location where human beings have hearts,
The sand grain has an alphabet of lightning flashes,
Flashes that came from the earth’s center, not the sky.
I read the sentences made out of fire.
OAKS
Oaks, your acorns fall on my lonely hands,
Reveal to me how much I want to be touched,
If only touched by a falling acorn.
I lean against bark, its hands touches my neck.
I watch catkins, blackbirds on catkins,
The blackbirds make catkins lean, touch each other.
Watching reeds touch, I recall touching
Your Slavic-Teutonic body in Venice, Florence, Milan.
I’m not yet in a coffin, but sitting alone with desires.
I look around, see a barefoot girl on a bench
Reading a book. Her is well coifured,
Not wild like your Slavic Teutonic blonde hair.
I’ll leave soon, departing from the acorn touch
On my lonely skin. But I won’t miss the acorns
As much, Gianna, as I miss your touch.
MEANING
To make clear things dark
Is to find her bright hair and dark body.
Her hair falls like rain down to the ground,
Soaks in
To touch underground stars.
I touch her hair,
Feel the voices of the stars underground
Enter my fingers.
Finally, life has a meaning.
ADMIRATION
The ring nose
Of the ox
And a wedding ring
Stared
At each other’s roundness.
Their creator boasted about his skill
To control the world.
Table of related information
Copyright ©Duane Locke, 1999
By the same author RSS
Date of publicationApril 2000
Collection RSSA Hot January
Permalinkhttps://badosa.com/p052
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