A new one.

If you haven't noticed, I just posted a couple of poems I wrote a few years ago. I'm starting to write again and thought I'd churn one out tonight to get the gears working. But I'm a little rusty, so be kind.

Note: This and the previous are blank verse, which is by definition unrhymed iambic pentameter.


Manhattan

I did not plan to dance with you tonight.
My shoes are plain, my hair a mess of curls
Unaltered from their natural array.
A heart that seems almost not mine
Weighs heavy, like a stranger’s burden
I offered to bear. Still, you are here,
A presence far too striking to ignore.
Your face is chiseled tactfully by time.
Your arm extends to me in invitation.
Your voice compels me. What is there to do
Except to dangle helpless from each word?
You ask me for a dance. I first decline,
For I am not a girl of grace or beauty.
I turn and walk away, only to see you
Inexplicably standing before me.
You watch. You wait. You ask me once again.

Embarassed, I begin to make excuses,
Hoping you’ll abandon the pursuit.
You shift your weight, but hold your fixed gaze.
You cause a gust of wind as you exhale.

I shiver in response, and just like that
Your arms enfold me. And we start to sway
From side to side, accompanied by you.
The hum beneath your streets, the laughs
And cries on every corner are your song.

I tell you I should probably head home.
And you just smile and whisper on my cheek -
“You are already home.” And I believe you.


© Kate Canary 2009