Saturday, March 13, 2010

one single impression: murmur


Murmur (II - Prequel)
In the twisted dark of sleeplessness
The ceiling fan murmurs
Mocking my attempts at rest.
My dog murmurs
Dreaming whatever dogs dream.
I rise.

In the cool, damp dark of pre-dawn
The highway murmurs
As truck tires sing a weary work song.
My heart murmurs
As the silence presses in from all sides.
I listen.

In the jumbled dark of my mind
The ocean murmurs
Its pulse echoing my own.
My lips murmur
"I remember".
I remember.



Murmur (I)
A hundred miles away
The ocean murmurs to me
A single word
"Remember"
No others are needed
And in truth
Not even that one
I remember perfectly
I cannot forget
The streaks of frozen crystalline white
Punctuating perfect blue
The sketches the birds drew
On the canvas of the shore
The biting wind, the brilliance
Of the sun unfiltered
How we laughed at the sandpipers
Fleeing the waves that feed them
Marveled at the tide
Pulled up tight like a blanket
Under the shore's chin by a maternal moon

A murmur, "Remember"
I remember
A laugh, a touch,
A kiss I'd dared not hope for
In my most unbridled imagination
We planted our flag
Claimed the beachhead as our own
In that pristine moment
Only you and I existed
A day in a life
A life in a day
If I am dreaming, never let me wake, I said
If I am awake, never let me sleep, I said
It seems long ago
Since the searing blue of boundless promise
Deepened to the purple ache of longing
And a restless heart
Alone in the night
First murmured your name
Just to hear it.

Please say you remember.
These look out of order perhaps. There's a reason. I wrote Murmur (I), couldn't decide whether or not to publish it, wrote Murmur (II), then decided to publish the first version. By that time the second was already posted. And in reading them both, the second one read like a prequel to the first. So here we are. Just me being my usual neurotic self. Nothing to worry about.
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28 comments:

Maude Lynn said...

This is hypnotic. Really beautiful.

ArtistUnplugged said...

Beautiful prose to go with the awesome photo....thanks.

Daryl said...

Romantic ...

masterymistery said...

some words are poems in themselves. "murmur" is one such word.

masterymistery at cosmic rapture

SandyCarlson said...

So know the feeling.

Gemma Wiseman said...

A mesmerising longing in these poems where the whole landscape tunes to the atmosphere of the heart! Very beautiful!

Rinkly Rimes said...

'The sketches the birds drew'..... very picturesque!

Anonymous said...

"Since the searing blue of boundless promise
Deepened to the purple ache of longing"

Truly wonderful lines -- very very captivating... as are both of these pieces...
...rob

hear my murmur... http://www.image-verse.com/atremble

Aayushi Mehta said...

beautiful, full of love...so well written!

Loch Rob said...

Life around us constantly murmurs, talking to us. If we will only listen in the quiet. I enjoyed the imagery in your poems.

Vinay Leo R. said...

beautiful murmurs.. life does do so in the dead of the night doesn't it?

Nadege said...

the first murmur blew me away -
very powerful & mysterious.

Maggie said...

I enjoyed reading the murmurs from your pen.

Enchanted Oak said...

Murmuring is one of the wonderful words that is a poem unto itself. I like the incessant murmuring in the second poem and the poignant moments you capture in the first. Personally, I liked reading the first one, then the second one, as that order seems right. I don't see Murmur II as a prequel. But that's just me the reader speaking without knowing the chronology you had in mind. Nice work!

Robin said...

Absolutely loved your second poem--great images and a timeless message.

Geraldine said...

I agree with Mama Zen, hypnotic reading. I love all of these. Well done!

Anonymous said...

I'd remember this murmur for a long time...wonderfully written.

Loved the way its weaved....the sandpipers...waves....blanketing the shore's chin by a maternal moon!

Stan Ski said...

So many aspects of Murmur - both great pieces.

Sherri B. said...

Stunningly beautiful...both these poems evoked such powerful emotions for me. Fantastic!

Amity said...

This is just superb Mojo...and reminds me of those youthful years when I enjoy those punishing murmurs in my ears...BLISS!!!

Two wonderful poems....they are!

Daryl said...

I think you'd like New England

maryt/theteach said...

Hi Mojo, I like these poems very much! :)

Tammie Lee said...

both are wonderful poems, the second is oh so romantic!

tiff said...

:)

Yellow Tulip said...

enchanting..:)..lovely dream which i wush nw to repeat again so reading again:)..beautiful

Jeeves said...

Beautiful

Tumblewords: said...

Superb! I particularly love these lines:
The sketches the birds drew
On the canvas of the shore

gabrielle said...

"How we laughed at the sandpipers
Fleeing the waves that feed them
Marveled at the tide
Pulled up tight like a blanket
Under the shore's chin by a maternal moon"

I love those lines. You have uncovered something eternal in this poem, in the tides, in the ocean that always delivers in the receding wave, in the memories that remain. Beautiful!