1.
You open an email
finger tips and bleeps and
clicks fade out until all
you hear: a Styrofoam
squeak –
nails digging into
morning coffee
You open an email
the whole world rushes out
you inhale, you exhale
the whole world surges back
– ten times harder
because of what you read
because of what you learn
because of the fact that
life will never take the
direction that you secretly
hoped it would, the one you
were too scared to wish for
out loud so you kept it
on reserve.
Can we go back to when
we first met?
Can we go back to Brooklyn
when ketchup fell from your
mouth like a teardrop?
Can we go back to dancing
on rooftops, pretending
all the lights are satisfied
smiles of mothers that never
showed up?
2.
A swarm of fireflies wavered between a large oak
tree and me: on your porch, an apple in my hand,
saving it like you said, wondering how long this would take.
The window framed that kitchen scene – a shoebox
diorama from hell, I saw your head smash
against the refrigerator door, somewhere
else a seagull dropped on chalky rocks, I still
don’t know why I sat there, it seemed more
important, so you’d have something to eat after.
3.
We sat amidst in-rolling walls of
morning mist, that god awful beach where
even the sea seemed to sigh. You –
tapping on a lunchbox spoke about
sex and death as if they meant the same
I just wanted you to stop
The wind plucked tears out of my eyes, beneath
the surface I made my lips touch yours
like kissing a corpse, some other place –
an apple pie baked, I’m sorry I
was too alive
to notice
4.
In a Brooklyn diner we acknowledged
the unacceptable present, refill
after refill, half-honest slurps from a
boundless black ocean, your hand on your heart
my hand on my throat, slowing down the time
I ordered a number nine, you left before it arrived,
I pretended not to care, the waitress told me
a story about some crazy-eyed hurricane but all
I saw was the back of your head drifting further away
swallowed by a crowd, further away –
I should have thought forever
5.
The attachment tells me
nothing but –
a digitized death
a storm caught in a
coffee mug, if only it
showed your bones, wherever
they are so I could be
reminded
there was love
once
even if it wasn’t long lasting
Comments
insertponceyfre... | March 8, 2011 - 17:36
this is beautiful maggy
maggyvaneijk | March 8, 2011 - 17:38
thank you
Yutka | March 8, 2011 - 17:55
enticing writing, wonderful! lots of thought provoking information in lyrical expression
skinner_jennifer | March 8, 2011 - 17:59
Love this piece, especially the lines:-
a swarm of fire flies wavered between a large oak
tree and me: on your porch, an apple in my hand,
saving it like you said, wondering how long this
would take.
These are my favourite, but enjoyed the whole poem.
Jenny.
o-bear | March 8, 2011 - 18:37
i really enjoyed this piece. the line "an apple pie baked, I’m sorry I was too alive to notice" - brilliant!
fatboy74 | March 8, 2011 - 23:03
4. is breathtaking Maggy particularly the detail in:
my hand on my throat, slowing down the time.
Which is kind of what I like most about your poems, you pause for breath, don't try to hide any lines because you know there's a better one coming along soon - it all stands up. really well done. :-)
maggyvaneijk | March 8, 2011 - 23:17
thanks, that's really kind, I'm glad you like it!
Dynamaso | March 9, 2011 - 06:34
Your poems are like a movie for the mind - the images you render are so easily absorbed and translated into pictures. Wonderful work!
edwardo | March 9, 2011 - 08:41
You painted a very nice picture, which is why I can say I likee very very much....EJK
seashore | March 9, 2011 - 11:01
Really good - in particular the last stanza. Great.
tcook | March 9, 2011 - 14:42
This is one of the best poems I've ever read on here - and I don't say that lightly.
It is our Facebook and Twitter pick of the day.
Join us on Twitter @tcookabctales
Join us on Facebook at ABCtales.com
Get a great reading recommendation most days.
maggyvaneijk | March 9, 2011 - 14:48
wow Tony, I don't think I truly deserve that comment but thanks!
tcook | March 9, 2011 - 14:59
I think you do - I've sat here re-reading this for half an hour and it just gets better and better.
owlybynight | March 9, 2011 - 16:23
Stunning! Awesome! Brilliant!
Silver Spun Sand | March 9, 2011 - 18:44
It's all been said, Maggy, and I think 'stunning' sums it up perfectly.
Tina
shoe | March 9, 2011 - 18:53
Just want to add my agreement to all thats been said, A poem to read again and again.
maggyvaneijk | March 9, 2011 - 19:05
thank you so much everyone!
maggyvaneijk | March 10, 2011 - 11:54
Hi blighters, thanks for your comment! I really wish I could make the event next Tuesday, I only just came back from London. However, I also told Tony, I'll be keeping my eye out for the next event and I'll even be living in London from September so it will be easier for me to get there, if the events continue (I hope so!). It sounds like such a great night and I'd love to put some faces to the user names!
I'm not sure about "reserve" I only know the expression used in the library, when they say you can put materials on reserve, at least I think. hmmm...
celticman | March 12, 2011 - 11:27
Just a boring old well done. Great. Marvelous. Terrific. Brilliant...
Nathan Bednarek | May 17, 2011 - 22:27
"The wind plucked tears out of my eyes"
My favorite line. Very hard to describe crying in an original way, but this is just beautifully done.
I must agree with Dynamaso- your poems are like movies. I literally feel as if I were in a cinema watching an oscar-winning production. Amazing.
Nathan x
maggyvaneijk | May 24, 2011 - 19:16
I've got a couple Massive Attack tracks but I'm not familiar with that album.
Yep I'll be in London at least from October onwards maybe even earlier trying to find a place to live, hopefully somewhere North.
I'm really flattered by your offer sounds like a great project keep me posted on it!