More Original Poetry

All poems are the original work of Sheria Reid. Please do not copy without permission. Copyrighted.


A Fairy Tale

Once upon a time,
we played under hot yellow sun,
princess and lady-in-waiting,
searching far horizons for knights in armor,
knights with stalwart hearts and sturdy swords
to rescue princesses from vengeful dragons.

We moved on
from knights to princes
with surreal kisses to waken princesses from dreamless sleep
or with glass slippers to fit the feet,
and rescue princesses from dreaded drudgery.

And still we moved on,
to grown-up lovers
with warm, wet kisses amid tangled sheets,
whispered lies to soothe the heart and soul.
We moved on to where the magic goes
and a toad
no matter how sweetly kissed,
still remains a toad.

Confessions in a Dark Cafe 

I knew a brown-eyed man like you,
who liked dark cafes and slow moody blues.

When he entered rooms,
women fanned and sighed his name,
but his hands were mine alone.

I knew every line in his brow,
the curve of his mouth
suited my curves,
his tongue traced sweet heat along my spine.
We danced the rumba,
sometimes tangoed,
always his rhythm matched mine.

I tell you this,
but please know,
the fire in my eyes tonight burns for you alone.
It’s just that the light is dim in this cafĂ©,
and for a moment,
your eyes were brown.



Eve’s Tale

“Eat,” he said.
“No,” I said
and listed the reasons why it was no go.
“Eat,” he said.

I sighed,
and explained the logic of self-denial.
But he persisted,
talking of wisdom and forbidden delight.

“Eat,” he said,
flicking my ear with his tongue,
whispering to me of my own desire.
Passions arose
as he licked the sweat from my neck.

“Eat,” he said,
and I intended merely to taste,
to soothe the fire that consumed my lips,
but the juice was cool,
and the flesh so sweet.

“Good,” he said
slithering away, leaving me to lick the pulp
from my hand.

“Eat,” I say.
His lips say no,
but I see his desire rising.
Soon. Soon.
















Pandora Speaks

Do not think ill of me; I did not mean
To surrender to curiosity.
You see, the box with its locks sang to me,
A song most disturbing and yet serene.
At night it broke into my sleep.  In dreams
I danced, a captive to its wild melody.
In the day it sang tunes in a pagan key—
Notes sharp and clear and so piercingly keen!
In vain I sought to inundate myself
With chores, mundane tasks, women’s work and such,
Ironing and folding and placing on the shelf…
But the box it sang, wailed for my touch.
I will not lie, no serpent shared my sin;
Temptation called and I simply gave in.



Grey

Abandoned houses are always grey.
Brick, wood, stone,
doesn’t matter.
Grey wraps around them, down to the foundations,
masking remnants of childish laughter,
obscuring murmured conversations
over coffee or tea.
Grey washes away passion,
wipes up all evidence of desire.
Memories vanished,
dreams extinguished,
all signs that anyone loved there,
gone.





On Women and Nature 

It is the nature of women to be submissive.
I have this on good authority.
The fairer sex places the rope about the neck
and willingly bears the burdens the flesh is heir to,
all the while with faces wreathed in pleasant smiles…
for it is the nature of women to be submissive.

I have this on historical authority.
The weaker sex yields to lord and master
and so willingly with hearts a flutter
bear the burdens the flesh is heir to,
like Leda with wide open arms
displaying tempting, womanly charms—
for it is the nature of women to be submissive.

And if by chance nature fails,
If there is a slight mistake—
Joan rising out of the ash in full armored dress, or
Judith with a well-tempered blade relieving Holofernes of his head,
it can be said with great authority
that these are minor aberrations,
deviations in the psyche,
no doubt owed to raging hormones…
For it is the nature of women,
            it is the function of women;
            it is the purpose of women
            to be submissive.

 Comments are welcomed and appreciated.








3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Thoroughly enjoyed Sheria!

The Geezer of Weldon

Char said...

Sheria, I so enjoyed your poems. After I read the first ones, I rushed to read them all.

Char

Unknown said...

Thank you so much!