| Author | Message | ||
| Lazarus
Advanced Member Username: lazarus Post Number: 1226 Registered: 10-2005 |
Long before my heart could drum rhythm, before any notion could stimulate me down there, I knew from the bare breasted women in National Geographic that I was going to feel something. I had no breasts to undulate or swing low on a brown belly but I could forget I was white skinned, and though I had never witnessed one move, I felt that nipple swing in the wide open savannah. The African plains is where my libido awakened, red scarved around a slender arm, beads layered on a tall neck near the swagger of a man’s hips in leather and cloth. I’d never given men much thought until I found them on the same page; glossy skin ripening in the drought of desert, dusty feet dancing in lines around a man in a wooden mask. I never read the copy, just leafed through worn out pages and placed it in the pile where I could find it again. (Message edited by lazarus on February 23, 2006) And the earth, bristling and raw, tiny and lost resumes its search; rushing through the vast astonishment- Ted Hughes, from His Legs Ran About. | ||
| Christopher T George
Senior Member Username: chrisgeorge Post Number: 4206 Registered: 12-2004 |
Hi Lazarus A well remembered memory, well told with sensuousness and breathless exhileration and expectation for the sensed music and the subdued sexual excitement of bare skin and sinew moving to the beat. Well done, Lazarus. Enjoyed.  Chris Editor, Desert Moon Review http://www.desertmoonreview.com/ Co-Editor, Loch Raven Review http://www.lochravenreview.net/ http://christophertgeorge.blogspot.com/ | ||
| Lazarus
Advanced Member Username: lazarus Post Number: 1228 Registered: 10-2005 |
Chris- I'm glad to get a comment, and to hear I haven't gone too far in this forum. I like what you wrote about the sensing of the music and breathless exhileration. Thanks. BTW- This was inspired by the exercise in sublux on taboo. Great idea, that one is. And the earth, bristling and raw, tiny and lost resumes its search; rushing through the vast astonishment- Ted Hughes, from His Legs Ran About. | ||
| Zephyr
Senior Member Username: zephyr Post Number: 3884 Registered: 07-2003 |
Lazarus you worry too much, , a good poem, ditto everything that Chris said. | ||
| Dale McLain
Advanced Member Username: sparklingseas Post Number: 1870 Registered: 11-2004 |
Laz~ Oh, I remember... a first glimpse at something covered and concealed in suburbia, something quite curious and interesting. You've captured it well. Enjoyed. take care~dale | ||
| ~M~
Board Administrator Username: mjm Post Number: 6672 Registered: 11-1998 |
Laz, you speak well for that generation (I was one of them) who learned much about sexuality from National Geographic (by accident, as I don't suppose the magazine ever intended to educate youth on this subject). Your poem is sensuous and rich, but still innocent and rather charming. No, you have not gone too far on this forum. Coming of age is a more mature topic, but not beyond our PG-13 guidelines. It's just the poems that make obvious and titillating references to sex that we relegate to the Erotica forum. This poem is about sexual awakening, but not designed to titillate. When you write that one (and I'm sure you will! *smile*), we will ask you to move to the private forum. BTW -- if you ever have any questions about the suitability of a particular piece, remember you can always send it to moderators@wildpoetryforum.com first and we will let you know what forum is appropriate. | ||
| Anastacia Donovan
Valued Member Username: sulis Post Number: 237 Registered: 03-2002 |
Laz you are the bees knees! I can totally relate to your words. Well done. Ana | ||
| Lazarus
Advanced Member Username: lazarus Post Number: 1230 Registered: 10-2005 |
(I knew I should have just kept quiet about my doubts and wait and see how this one was received.) Zephyr- OK I won't. Thanks, glad you enjoyed. M- I'll be sure to send you all my most errotic poems, when I ever do write them. Yes, the lessons in sensuality. I don't know what we were actually learning. (I don't do those dances myself, but I'm beginning to think maybe I should!) Ana- Bees knees! I've never been that before. Feels good actually! Thanks. And the earth, bristling and raw, tiny and lost resumes its search; rushing through the vast astonishment- Ted Hughes, from His Legs Ran About. | ||
| Deborah P Kolodji
Valued Member Username: dkolodji Post Number: 218 Registered: 04-2005 |
wow just...wow Deborah P Kolodji www.livejournal.com/~dkolodji www.kolodji.com Editor, Amaze: The Cinquain Journal Amaze: The Cinquain Journal | ||
| Lazarus
Advanced Member Username: lazarus Post Number: 1233 Registered: 10-2005 |
Deb- I guess that's good. I've wowed Kolodji. That's a feat. And the earth, bristling and raw, tiny and lost resumes its search; rushing through the vast astonishment- Ted Hughes, from His Legs Ran About. | ||
| SplinterGroup
Advanced Member Username: splinter Post Number: 1064 Registered: 11-2003 |
Laz, I won't comment on the content other than to say that it particularly well done and very emotive. the style is a compliment to the content. Well done and nice sharp word pictures that leave very little doubt about what has been called (incorrectly) the "feminine mystique. The pace is well done and the words have a nice taste in the brain. Congratulations kiddo! Addotto/SplinterGroup/ E'bobo Pentigger, we are many! | ||
| Gary Blankenship
Senior Member Username: garyb Post Number: 6830 Registered: 07-2001 |
For the short list. Smiles. Gary who learned from Erskine Caldwell A River Transformed The Dawg House December Fireweed | ||
| Lazarus
Advanced Member Username: lazarus Post Number: 1234 Registered: 10-2005 |
Gary - Hey, thanks for the nod. That was a very interesting google on Erskine Caldwell! Are you talking about the author of Tobacco Road, God's Little Acre, and Trouble in July? Are these social commentaries laced with sensual content or are you just turned on by the angst of a troubled time? SG- Now I have to go google the "feminine mystique." I heard a little bit about this from the recent passing of the woman who wrote a book by that name in the early 60's. But I haven't the foggiest what it is. I'm glad to hear you liked the pace. I read it one time and thought, what was I thinking! And the earth, bristling and raw, tiny and lost resumes its search; rushing through the vast astonishment- Ted Hughes, from His Legs Ran About. | ||
| Emusing
Moderator Username: emusing Post Number: 2851 Registered: 08-2003 |
Laz you made me feel those roots better than any magazine. Sensual and surprising. Very nicely done! One little quibble: I’d never given men much thought until I found them [there] on the same page I don't know that I'd say "them there". Otherwise, a comma between. E | ||
| Lazarus
Advanced Member Username: lazarus Post Number: 1240 Registered: 10-2005 |
E- Oh good an edit suggestion! I was beginning to feel a little uneasy about just sailing through with this one. Yes, 'them there' is wierd. Thanks for that. I'm glad you could feel what the magazine made me feel, even though there wasn't any name for it. (I'm looking into this "feminine mystique" idea and it's really facinating. Could be a good subject for a chap book.) The Age of Nations is past. The task before us now, if we would not perish, is to build the earth. - Teilhard de Chardin | ||
| M. Kathryn Black
Senior Member Username: kathryn Post Number: 3058 Registered: 09-2002 |
Lazarus, a great poem. I, too, remember National Geographic with much fondness as my grandparents had vintage copies and probably all the tribes of Africa and S. America in them. Best, Kathryn | ||
| LJ Cohen
Moderator Username: ljc Post Number: 4040 Registered: 07-2002 |
Laz--this is well done! Love these lines: "where my libido awakened, red scarved around a slender arm, beads layered on a tall neck near the swagger of a man’s hips in leather and cloth." best, ljc Once in a Blue Muse Blog | ||
| Lazarus
Advanced Member Username: lazarus Post Number: 1252 Registered: 10-2005 |
Kath- I'm glad to hear that other women found these images stimulating. After a small amount of research, I now have more questions than answers about female sexuality. Lisa- That mention of the scarf is not an actual memory. It is from a trick I learned about the life magazine photogs- add a bit of red to their pictures- this somehow made them more sellable. I just added that, the way they would, now that I think of it! (But I think it goes deeper now, maybe all the way to the feminine mystique!) The Age of Nations is past. The task before us now, if we would not perish, is to build the earth. - Teilhard de Chardin | ||
| Laurie Byro
Advanced Member Username: lauriette Post Number: 1568 Registered: 11-2003 |
laz (gotta watch that, I just typed an X) I liked this VERY much. I think libido is wrong here, though I would say "where my sex" wakened. Could be for both sex ES or obviously the act, I think it expresses the coming of age better. Imo thanks laurie | ||
| Lazarus
Advanced Member Username: lazarus Post Number: 1321 Registered: 10-2005 |
Laurie that's an interesting idea. Having been a psych major I use the terms I learned there quite naturally, but it might be more down to the real to just say sex. I like wakened instead of awakened. Nice little touch to simplify. Thanks for your comments. I'm glad to hear you liked it. So would that make me an airport? LAX? Cool. The Age of Nations is past. The task before us now, if we would not perish, is to build the earth. - Teilhard de Chardin |
