consider this
the heartbeat of twenty-
seven stolen seconds, dead
reckonings in
bitter January birth-
pangs; consider
this the end
of beginnings, letters
upside down
on an unfinished
page written by one
who breathes the last
gypsied breath
of penance wearing
chipped midnight
on her toes, walks
the iron-dark canals
like some soulless
wild thing, all the while dis-
(re)-membering:
once upon a
time, i knew
how to write
love songs.
Joanna Suzanne Lee 
I have been covered in chipped midnight. If you were a player on the streets of Miami for three decades, it was unavoidable.
Reflective and sad…
Elegant and sad. I feel this personally.
glad this found some resonance with you, though i hope your start to the new year is not half so dark.
peace, and light,
joanna
Reflective and lovely!
The queen of metaphors, you hit another homerun in my book once more 🙂 Have a blessed new year!
thanks, dear; you are too kind! may this new year be filled with light for you as well!
and you know…i have found that you can re-learn how to write them…love the word play joanna
i hope you’re right, brian… smiles…
Good one.
Megaphoric! I adored the chips and gypsied breath. Your poem reminded me in the best way of a Carla Bruni song, La derniere minute — http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wrJN_sCzrDE .
you know, i adore Carla Bruni, although i don’t know but about three words of French & have to look up a translation for every line… but thank you; high praise indeed!
A ghostly look at the scorned lover, to be sure. We are all wanderers in that area, set adrift from time to time…we can teach and learn all we will, but we always seem to forget when the trauma rolls around again. Lovely poem, Joanna, with some fantastic use of language.
thanks, Chris. 🙂
Your finish brings it all home perfectly! Love the play with the font to better the impact, much like a whisper of what used to be.
No longer trusting, sad indeed but after a rant or ten such as these things tend to come around.
so well written for such a sad and reflective topic.. you truly are a wonderful writer..
lynne
lynne, you are so sweet. always brings a smile to see you’ve dropped by. 🙂
There’s a wonderful delicacy to your writing. I could feel that soulless, wild thing… brutal.
This took my breath away. Haunting piece.
thank you, all of you, for your sincere comments. they mean a lot to me, truly. hope everyone’s year is starting off the way they would wish…
peace,
–jsl
Wow – I love this! Great line breaks, and love the ‘chipped midnight/ on her toes’ and the closing lines. Very cool!
gracias! 🙂
Powerful lyrical economy.. very much enjoyed.
I feel the chill of winter and loss in this piece. So well written. I love these lines:
“gypsied breath
of penance wearing
chipped midnight
on her toes”
Another great poem. You have a great voice, telling enough to make it interesting, leaving enough to the reader’s imagination, by giving us the details without the big picture
thanks as ever, Ray. that’s kinda exactly what i was going for. 🙂
So sombre, yet beautiful. I really like this. 🙂
Blogs reading mood today … as usual I love your poems, it’s just my muse has been gone for quite some time and I can’t even find appropriate words to honor the talent of others, but one thing is sure, your place it’s always full of talent … Happy Sunday!
so nice to hear from you, as always. you’re such a sweetheart, Blaga. i gotta get over to check out what you’ve been up to. sometimes muse-hunting can be as inspirational as having one on your shoulder… 🙂