Sitting splay-legged
on a dark pavement
still warm from the day’s exertion,
she draws an invisible sword
from the tight inner pocket of her jeans,
tips back her head and
laughs, close-eyed;
this, all re-covered ground
and still echoing with the footfalls
of dragon-drawn chariots;
she has long since
learned the danger
of thinking twice.
Music plays softly overhead,
incongruous;
impersonal and plastic,
soaked up by new brick and sponged
inexpertly into the pores of her bare feet.
One by one worlds pass by:
parents with children, couples in love,
impregnable youths.
They glance and turn,
watching without seeing;
unaware.
Her mind, a thousand miles away,
kicking the shins of impossibility
with those calloused feet,
unwinding threads through a maze
and gazing skyward,
always skyward.
the tenth muse 
Excellent. Believe me I read a lot of poetry on a daily basis (apart from blogging, I admin a very busy Poetry Group/site and am member of several others)… Your turn of phrase general handling of figurative language/trope is advanced and a delight to read. I love Greek Myth and this poem appeals to me very much. Perhaps could’ve used a line break or two, but probably that’s just me…
Bravo
Warmest Salad
Luke
your image takes my breath away…
perfect rhythm and outstanding word flow.
Wow. I was able to clearly visualize this. Good job.
Jingle, you are too kind. one of the coolest things about the Potluck is being able to trot out and dust off old poems that you haven’t thought about in months or even years. Thanks.
Victoria, ‘preciate your dropping in.
Luke– eh, line breaks are over-rated. 🙂 glad you liked this piece. it was one of several early poems from this site whose revised versions made it into my first book, and the phrase “kicking the shins of impossibility” was even one of the section headings.
Your poems are always outstanding and this one no exception…loved the read my dear friend. Thanks for linking 🙂 🙂 🙂
thanks as always for dropping by buttercup–it’s always a pleasure! hugs 🙂
Hope to see you next Monday…..
you are a poet with full integrity and outstanding versions…
love your participation on both of my Rally…
visit poets from our list any time,
sign in to follow our poetry blog if you can…
Happy Friday.
I love your positive attitude.
“Kicking the shin of impossiblity” gave me a vivid thought.. and I enjoyed reading it through out your verse, the rawness of your emotions… Beautiful
ॐ नमः शिवाय
Om Namah Shivaya
Twitter @VerseEveryDay
http://shadowdancingwithmind.blogspot.com
appreciate you dropping by, Shashi. Thanks for the kind words.