She Pulls Me In, Naked
Every spring my heart pulls on rubber boots
pulls me along with her—
we tromp and splash where shadows
play across newborn grass
my heart’s silly pink on spring days,
love-bitten, chlorophyll-drunk
periwinkle shadows dapple dandelions,
shimmy with tadpoles in snaky
oblong lakes that sidle up sudden
in ditches after vernal showers
my heart pulls me in, I’m all yellow slickers
she’s tattoo of raindrops on the swale—
we play until all the little lakes vanish
into hot wet air—til I’m sticky haired
and she’s sunk in those rubber boots
feet damp and rank so we escape
north on I-75, chase heat-mirages
that flash ahead of us, teasing
phantom lakes, always just ahead—
summertime sadness on the radio, echoes of long-ago
mountain lake summers gone, summers we can’t drive
back to, no more shiver on the midnight dock summers
we’ll never abandon all reason
for cool deep blues and cannonballs
we’ll never ever float coconut-butter afternoons, never.
Yet my heart skinny dips every solstice—
stubborn, she never ever minds my nevers.
She just laughs and pulls me in, naked.
6 thoughts on "She Pulls Me In, Naked"
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Scrumptious, Elaine! There are so many beautiful lines here.
My favorites:
periwinkle shadows dapple dandelions,
shimmy with tadpoles in snaky
oblong lakes that sidle up sudden
in ditches after vernal showers
my heart pulls me in, I’m all yellow slickers
she’s tattoo of raindrops on the swale—
Beautiful! A love poem that’s also interesting. Love the images
Beautiful imagery.
Gorgeous poem.
Fav lines:
my heart pulls on rubber boots
pulls me along with her—
periwinkle shadows dapple dandelions,
tattoo of raindrops on the swale—
She just laughs and pulls me in, naked.
Lovely lines and a very engaging structure and play with words in this piece: love ” chase heat-mirages/that flash ahead of us, teasing/phantom lakes, “
Captures it perfectly.