north country
and i am something of a north country girl
tannin stained from southern sun
bled and bound by others than you
heading north again on this skyline
with someone other than you
who smells of musk and flowers
my divided heart is keening already
for the over saturating southern sun
warm beer on warm nights
the relentless lap of cursed waves
confederate jasmine and palmetto bugs
mourning the places i left i lose my tears to the virginia wind,
and grieving for the arms that held me
to the soft patchouli fabric of another lover's shirt
Mairi Graham-Shaw
© 2012
Image: Naomi entreating Ruth and Orpah to return to the land of Moab. By William Blake, 1795 (from Wiki Commons)
The Blake illustration is lovely - unknown to me before now - and opens entirely new avenues of thought and interpretation. As was intended. I continue to admire the way these poems work like palimpsests, with layers of meaning hiding under what can be read as a very contemporary narrative.
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