INVISIBLE KISSES
written by Lemn Sissay
If there was ever one
Whom when you were sleeping
Would wipe your tears
When in dreams you were weeping;
Who would offer you time
When others demand;
Whose love lay more infinite
Than grains of sand.
If there was ever one
To whom you could cry;
Who would gather each tear
And blow it dry;
Who would offer help
On the mountains of time;
Who would stop to let each sunset
Soothe the jaded mind.
If there was ever one
To whom when you run
Will push back the clouds
So you are bathed in sun;
Who would open arms
If you would fall;
Who would show you everything
If you lost it all.
If there was ever one
Who when you achieve
Was there before the dream
And even then believed;
Who would clear the air
When it’s full of loss;
Who would count love
Before the cost.
If there was ever one
Who when you are cold
Will summon warm air
For your hands to hold;
Who would make peace
In pouring pain,
Make laughter fall
In falling rain.
If there was ever one
Who can offer you this and more;
Who in keyless rooms
Can open doors;
Who in open doors
Can see open fields
And in open fields
See harvests yield.
Then see only my face
In reflection of these tides
Through the clear water
Beyond the river side.
All I can send is love
In all that this is
A poem and a necklace
Of invisible kisses.
9 Comments
I love how simple, straightforward and beautiful this poem is.
ReplyDeleteFor Mom, Wherever you may be
ReplyDeleteYou thought you would always be there
to dry my tears, comfort every hurt
with a hug and a chocolate-chip date bar.
So did I. You were my universe. Couldn’t imagine
a scenario where your soothing salves
wouldn’t go deep enough to heal me.
Yet somehow that happened; I grew up
and flew away to find my own constellation,
not needing your ministrations any longer.
No matter. You kept on loving me
from a distance, sending a lifeline
so we wouldn’t lose one another.
Tight rope balanced, you gave me
space and support. Remember your visits,
bearing lunch, clipped articles and kitchen gadgets?
I worked my way back to you,
slowly coming to grips with the betrayals,
disappointments, anger that littered the past.
Back & forth, we wore the path down
to resilient sheen, a luminous highway made
stronger with each small kindness and reparation.
Even now you can see the light shining,
one distant star to the other—
no limit to how far this light can travel.
There's a lot of emotion in here - yearning, pain, comfort, love. Lucky for you that there's a closed circle here, or at keast there seems to be.
DeleteThe exploration of imagery in the tight space of this poem intrigues me. So does the love.
ReplyDeleteIf There Were a Bright Moment one Morning in March
If there were a bright moment one morning
In March waking you bright-eyed and open-
Armed to light, skimming the cerulean
Sea of a sky, pushing off from the floor
Of the warming earth, upward into clouds
Like glistening seafoam off cresting waves
Drifting homeward like sea nymphs from dreamland,
I would swim into pure blue light with you,
Flutter kicking upward, the soul alive
Above the treetops, above the ridgeline
Above time-softened hills and golden clouds,
Treading air and light, in reach of the sun.
On this March morning, we would find our way
At home, together, though we could not stay.
For Mom
Sandy, the flow of these words and the luscious mix of sky and sea imagery make reading this poem such a pleasurable and moving experience. It’s a moment that seems timeless and expansive.
DeleteI agree with Julie. And add that the depth of the sea and sky demonstrate a vast amount of yearning and love and longing in those lines.
DeleteAmy D'Orio
DeleteSandy - I love the use of enjambment here and as a swimmer "flutter kicking" and the fantasy environment.
If Ever You Faked Love
ReplyDeleteIf there ever was one thing
You cannot fake, it would be love.
Your actions will not match your words;
Your focus will be only on you;
Your plans will only consider your interests and time.
If there ever was one thing
You cannot fake, it would be love.
You will avoid commitment;
You will keep separate your worlds;
You will be undependable and always distant.
If ever there was one thing
You cannot fake, it would be love.
Your world would be a devoid
Of beauty, of wonder, of purpose;
You'd live in lies, and cruelty, and pain.
If there ever was one thing
You cannot fake, it would be love.
Your heart would know and feel,
After a time, a loneliness so deep
That you would cease to exist.
Ed, I like your approach of exploring what love is not. The repetition of those two lines, “if ever there was one thing you cannot fake…“ works really well I think, as you come up with all the reasons why this is true. The first two stanzas explore the outer actions of such a faker, and the last two go into the inner world, and how this person is actually hurting themselves. Especially like “your world would be devoid of beauty, of wonder, of purpose.“
Delete