Saturday, March 12, 2016

206

[a google dot com image]


PARAMOUR
Gentle breezes, touching cheeks; fingers of sun rays, putting to shame every master painter, stroking in warm colour, on faces, lifted, like praise worthy palms; a sensuous wind drafts by, lifting skirts in magical sweeps, of windy-gesturing-Eros.

sunlit daybed strewn -
lo! bougainvillea shrouded
in veined scarlet bracts,

PARAMOUR © gillena cox 2016


Written for Brendan MacOdrum's prompt at
Sunday Mini-Challenge: The Paramour
Imaginary Garden With Real Toads

Brendan says "The first written poetry of our Western tradition began in Greece between the seventh and sixth centuries BC. Standing at the border of the preliterate, poets like Archilochos and Anakreon found an alphabet in which to ferry verbal expression into the symbolic language of the mind. The act transformed culture and history and who we are. (The literate is now disappearing behind visual culture, borne by wordless ferry-workers.)

Where were the first literate poets going when they wrote their song down? It wasn’t to philosophy or myth; instead, they dazzled to the arrow-thwocks of erotic love. Sappho, another of the first poets of the literate age, wrote:

Eros, once again limb-loosener whirls me
sweetbitter, impossible to fight off, stealing up...

For this challenge, lets go back to the edge of that forest and name the paramours who led us to write. Let’s celebrate the badness of that defining encounter which has inspired our best work. Celebrate them individually or serially, angelically or down and dirty—swamp-prime"


25 comments:

  1. "putting
    to shame
    every
    master
    painter,
    stroking
    in warm
    colour"

    Love love love.

    But this, baby, is brilliant:
    "bougainvillea shrouded
    in veined scarlet bracts"

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks for dropping in 'radiohead'

      much love...

      Delete
  2. Oh I so love that you have put the contrast between the prose on the bougainvillea in the center... wonderful writing.

    ReplyDelete
  3. The close is especially cool--great words, thanks. k.

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    Replies
    1. Happy you dropped in to read mine K

      much love...

      Delete
  4. Some really nice imagery going on in this piece.

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    Replies
    1. Thanks for your appreciation Rommy

      Much love...

      Delete
  5. I like your word choices, like "magical sweeps" and "shrouded
    in veined scarlet bracts"--they added a sense of gentle softness throughout.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Some blooms seem to evoke a sense of passion.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks for dropping in to read mine Kerry

      Much love...

      Delete
  7. Eros spirited Psyche up to his magic castle in the sky, so the uplifting breeze here is perfect. It's sunny and sensual and bad. I'm hearing "Me and Mrs. Jones." Thanks for the slow-dance.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks for a very interesting prompt Brendan. I'm happy you dropped by to read mine

      Much love...

      Delete
  8. Loved this line "fingers of sun rays, putting to shame every master painter." So true! Just beautiful Gillena a work of art. Hugs!

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  9. Thanks for dropping in to read mine Bekkie

    Much love...

    ReplyDelete
  10. Natures blooms the most glorious poetry, and your hears her song! ♥

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm happy you dropped by to read mine Magaly

      Much love...

      Delete
  11. what a lovely write.

    beautiful and sensual, yet somehow reminding me of spring. :)

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    Replies
    1. Thanks for your appreciation Stacy Lynn

      Much love...

      Delete
  12. I love every element of this – gorgeous Marilyn, the ultimate fantasy; the delicious haibun and particularly that exquisite haiku; and the fab music by an artist unknown to me before. Thank you for all of it!

    ReplyDelete
  13. Thanks for your appreciation Rosemary

    Much love...

    ReplyDelete
  14. Excellent poem!

    Love this:

    "putting
    to shame
    every
    master
    painter,
    stroking
    in warm
    colour"

    ReplyDelete
  15. Love it...especially the ending. There is a sensuous joy to it.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks for your appreciation Susie

      Much love...

      Delete