May 7, 2008...4:49 pm
A different kind of love potion
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A different kind of love potion
She kept a flask of love
mixed with caution in her bag
for times when she felt bereft of
human kindness. If her spirits flagged
she’d take maybe a little sip, just a nip
to stop her eyes from tearing.
Drops would often slip
down her cheeks, declaring
her a weakling to anyone nearby.
Once she wept on a city street.
She asked her lover, Why
don’t you love me with the same sweet
kiss of yesterday? He turned away,
and she stood alone, holding his dried-out bouquet.
***
3WW: cautious, human, maybe
Photo credit: Sea in a flask, by Fran G. at stockxchange.
16 Comments
May 7, 2008 at 5:54 pm
Should have known from “mixed with caution”
Loved it. It was so pretty yet so sad
May 7, 2008 at 7:48 pm
this was very nice christine,, and i can identify very much with the feeling s of love having become dry and brittle,, like old flowers…..
May 7, 2008 at 8:09 pm
“Why don’t you love me with the same sweet
kiss of yesterday?” He turned away,
and she stood alone, holding his dried-out bouquet. wow…i feel it. and not that i feel the love is gone, just that his love is gone. i get this. this ‘feeling’ is what is at the base of a lot of ‘lost love’ poems!
May 7, 2008 at 8:22 pm
Oh wow, this is great work. Sort of depressing, though…
May 7, 2008 at 10:25 pm
oh, christine! thanks for your kind comment…i have to tell you that currently i am not working, so i am not listening to clients all day long. i have done quite a variety of things in my field…right now i’m just a mom to my kids and don’t have a hectic or tiring schedule at all! i tend to analyze things and think a lot, though! i certainly could use a psychologist/counselor/therapist most of the time, myself…believe me. thanks again!
May 8, 2008 at 1:48 am
“She kept a flask of love mixed with caution in her bag for times when she felt bereft…..she’d take a maybe a little sip, a little nip….” suggests the addictive nature of love, as of alcohol. But maybe that’s just my reading and not one you intended, Christine. The “dried bouquet” suggests the aridity of love lost, against which to fortify oneself? G
May 8, 2008 at 3:37 am
Well, I’ve broken down and am back to using the prompt sites, which I think are more effective and useful for poetry than prose. This one is lovely compared to my wacky response to the same prompt.
May 8, 2008 at 6:37 am
Such sweet sadness! Especially loved the flask of love being mixed with caution.
Gemma
May 8, 2008 at 7:40 am
That is a very balanced poem, there is enough emotion in it for the reader to be moved but not so much that they are overpowered, it is very measured and controlled, almost distant, but it also has great clarity and precision in its language, so it was one of those poems that is undeniable good but whether one allows oneself to be moved by it is a matter of taste, so maybe there is a dignity in it too, hmm, i will come back,
May 8, 2008 at 9:15 am
This is sad… sometimes I think we all have a potion of this variety.
May 8, 2008 at 10:25 am
Very sad. It’s so desolate when something like this happens.
You capture it well.
May 8, 2008 at 10:27 am
Succinct, moving, beautifully crafted. Thank you so much for taking to a place I know.
May 8, 2008 at 2:02 pm
She asked her lover, Why
don’t you love me with the same sweet
kiss of yesterday? He turned away,
Loved this, so bittersweet, such a delicate, gentle rhyme.
May 8, 2008 at 2:35 pm
What a lovely poem! It made my heart ache. You are just so good at distilling a moment that feels real and universal, even if our own experiences are very different. I felt such a kinship with the poor woman in your poem, even though my love is very much requited.
Yet aother masterful sonnet.
May 9, 2008 at 6:08 am
It was a very sweet poem. Nice take with the prompt.
May 12, 2008 at 1:45 am
That was beautifully sad. A wonderful poem.
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