I thought myself a girl of pirouettes and lace
You a boy of liquid tongue and muscled limbs
We leapt across the beach at midnight
Sweeping constellations of sand into the sky
Gimlet eyed moon glinting over the ocean
Ignoring two young fools fledged by kisses
Yet we are none of these night creatures
We’re cast from lightning and quicksand
You and I ablaze with our fierce shimmer
Blinded by the sparks we see in the other
Though nearly drowned in my clay of insecurity
Jealous of your flare, my star fades at dawn
We bend our marrow to earth and sky
Tangled by our presence in the firmament
Kneel beside each other yet rise alone
Me, grounded in quicksand, awaiting the flash
Your bright burst of lightning to remind me
Lace and limbs, I cannot ascend without you
Just a thought 65
Lightning image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons
Sharon Bonin-Pratt's Ink Flare 
Comments on: "Lightning and Quicksand" (30)
this – obliquely, but definitely – reminded me of Joni Mitchell’s ‘Don Juan’s Reckless Daughter’
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You’re comparing my verse to Joni Mitchell’s lyrics? I guess the fourth grader wonders if the principal turned in her lunch tickets. Thank you, Mark.
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I think I know him of ‘liquid tongue and muscled limbs’. Lovely piece.
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I bet you do, Peggy. I bet we all do. (47 years in March) Thanks for reading.
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You’re so talented, Sharon!
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That’s a lovely thing to say, Suzie. Thank you.
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“liquid tongue”–gotta think on that one.
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You’ve probably heard a few in your life, Jacqui. 😀
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“You a boy of liquid tongue and muscled limbs.” How I wished, when in my teens, that that was me. More like a boy of cement tongue and bony limbs. Thankfully I had and still have a liquid, muscled imagination!
Lovely poem Sharon.
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A liquid, muscled imagination – that, you do, Denzil. We were a bit older than our teens but nowhere close to wise. Thank you for reading.
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Teen Spirit I’m sure.
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😀
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.. . and I thought I “knew” all about you. . . memory or imagination . . . perhaps both?
This needs to be submitted for publishing.
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I will tell you in person – which is a clue that ought to inform you anyway.
As for publication – not sure – it’s already published here.
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Wow, so beautiful, Shari! Lightning and quicksand, two elements that can never connect!
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True, yet I believe we are all made of that spark of the cosmos, and we each harbor darkness that weighs us down. And still, we manage to come together once in a while in a partnership that humbles the doubters.
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Sharon, indeed, this is a gorgeusly romantic poem — but now I’m distracted by how many real-life friends you have that read & comment on your work — am impressed 🙂
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You’re very observant, Daal, and thank you for the compliment.
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Beautiful, Sharon!
When are you going to publish a book of poems?
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Thank you, Jenna. We’ll have to talk about this over chips and salsa.
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This is fantastic… the words are so visual and evocative!! Love it! And yeah, “that boy” is someone many of us have met I think. And what a wonderful moment it was indeed. 😉
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I’m so glad you liked this one, Charlie. And so glad you met your boy as I met mine – though we’re still working out some of the kinks.
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Absolutely beautiful!
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Thank you, Rivka.
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This is truly a poem I long to see and read in a beautiful little hardcover book full of your wonderful and inspiring poems, Shari. I think you really should do such a project after having successfully published your current work. Poems have that special way to let us connect on a very different level with the writer, a subconscious one almost which is why I think so many love them.
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Aw, thank you, Sarah, for such a lovely comment. I never thought I could write poetry. Several years ago, a friend told me my posts were too long so I decided to try to write poetry as a way of being briefer. Then I began to post the ones I felt were decent, so your encouragement is meaningful. Poems do help us connect to our deeper feelings. For a writer, they force us to consider what is most essential. We’ll see about putting them in a book one day.
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Sharon, this is my new favorite of your poems. I love every line, including the title – just beautiful, not to mention inspiring. ☺️ Makes me a bit wistful – in a good way.
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Thank you for the lovely comments, Betty. I’m glad to know that it doesn’t make you feel regretful.
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Poetry; I like it!
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I like your enthusiasm, Al. Thank you for reading.
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