Monday, November 28, 2011

Mag 93 -- red sofa


red sofa

The song begins
"I met my old lover
on the street last night,"
and--well--this is not
the same, but I met
my old lover's then-new,
now-old couch
on the street last night.

I could never forget it
or mistake another for it,
but I stopped the car to
confirm my find:
        ...
        Slow, deep bass notes
        rolled across the street;
        but closer to the sofa
        The Wind Cries Mary cried
        in humming sound waves
        under the freeway overpass--
        as if the sofa held onto
        a soundtrack of our
        free ways with one another.

                The red sofa still smelled of
                scented candles, pot, Cheetos,
                and our sex;
                in its velvet skin
                were waxes of varied colors,
                small burns from hot seeds and
                smoking embers, orange grease,
                sweet-&-sour droplets dried in
                subtle patterns of bump-&-grind.

I found my scratch marks
on the back behind,
the imprints of your knees
on the arms,
a yank of long blond hair,
the tip of a piece of leather strap,
                and a piece of paper
                crammed into the seat
                against the back rubbed raw:
                      ...
                      the cover from your
                      copy of the Kama Sutra
                      with my goodbye note
                      written on the other side.

                                                MLydiaM ~ November 2011


Visit Magpie Tales to read other Mag 93s inspired by the photo prompt above (photo by Christine Donnier-Valentin).  Want to give a nod to Mark Kerstetter whose "Wild" prompt at dVerse Poets for this week's Poetics set the tone for this particular magpie.

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21 comments:

Don't Feed The Pixies said...

how worrying that i recognised the song from just one line?

Homeward Bound, another S&G classic, was written at Ditton Station, 12 miles out of Liverpool. The station is no longer in use, but there is still a plaque to that effect at Widnes station (nearby)

Still Crazy After All These Years...is one of my favourite Paul Simon songs. I saw him on The Rhythmn Of The Saints tour and it was one of the best concerts i ever went to. Hearts & Bones live was just stunning as he started off alone on stage and half-way through the choir returned singing as they came...

I suspect that if i tried now i could still sing all the lyrics to You Can Call Me Al

And yet - the name of the person sitting half-way down the office? Not a chance :)

Brian Miller said...

oh hell this is great...love all the textures and little details you give the sofa...and the note on the back of the cover of kama sutra...nice...excellent piece...

Tess Kincaid said...

The scents...the textures...perfect!

izzy said...

Down to the smallest details!
Love this poem- I remember many of the 'seeds' you mention.
Really enjoyed the song through-the- tunnel ; very real!

Berowne said...

From freeways to free ways -- excellent.

kaykuala said...

Lydia,
A wonderful write through all the tiny little episodes. The sofa is savvy to all the wonderful times the 2 hearts had together. You brought it out realistically. Great!

P/S Thanks for your visit earlier. Apologies for I missed to respond in time.

Hank

Doctor FTSE said...

Powerful stuff, Lydia. And the last line . . using the cover of the Kama Sutra to pen you goodbye note is inspired though very sad in a way.

Sheila said...

wow - vivid memories on that couch that you depicted so well! enjoyed this alot.

said...

Whew. That was quite a detailed write! Those must be some seriously imprinted memories. :)

kj said...

lydia, i'm reading this poem and i'm saying, who wrote this?! it is a gem. every detail that a couch could be, you've aced. all five senses packed into one couch. a beginning to end relationship buried into one couch.

i am clapping clapping, lydia. can you hear me? this is my favorite poem of yours and my favorite in a goodly time. xoxo
:^)
love
kj

susan said...

You do write some wonderfully evocative poems. This is lovely.

Fireblossom said...

I don't even need to read the rest of them to know that this is my favorite for the magpie this time. Love it.

Trellissimo said...

Yes . . I was impressed by the irony in the last line.

Lydia said...

Pixies~ Still Crazy After All These Years is one of my favorite Paul Simon songs, also. I envy you having seen him on that particular tour...gave me chills reading what you wrote. We saw the S&G Old Friends reunion tour, and it was wonderful--a very soulful evening of memories.
(Funny last line in your comment!)

Brian~ Okay, Brian, your saying this was great and excellent gave me such a lift on Monday. Thank you.

Tess~ So nice of you to say that, but your great prompt at Magpie Tales is why it exists at all! I'm anxious to read what others wrote from this prompt...

izzy~ So weird, I had not thought of those seeds for decades and they just "popped" right into the poem! :)

Berowne~ Thank you for your visit and kind comment.

kaykuala~ Geez, Hank, no need to apologize about not replying earlier. I am just thrilled to have you here now, and appreciate your comments!

Doctor FTSE~ I'm honored you found it powerful. It was a powerful image! The ending did seem sad but it was what I think those two experienced.

Sheila Moore~ Thanks, and, um, not all memories in this: portion fact, portion fiction, portion fantasy. I love how our lives can mesh in our writing. :)

Shawna~ Please see reply to Sheila above!

kj~ I'm reading this comment and I'm saying, kj wrote this to me??? Thank you so much! (hugs) And thank you again. :)

susan~ Your comment is so kind and I so appreciated it.

Fireblossom~ !!!!! This is the first time anyone has said that my magpie was their favorite for the week. Having you say that is such an honor. Thank you. :)

Trellissimo~ I have never read the Kama Sutra....just snippets here and there through the years. But I know enough about it (and life, certainly) to agree that the ending is ironic!

Anonymous said...

This is wonderful Lydia - thank you for sharing!

Claudia said...

oh sad ending...didn't expect this... old sofas could tell thousands of stories...loved the one you brewed for us lydia..

Mary Ann Potter said...

Lots of memorable phrases here, just like all the memories left on that couch. Quite an epic for a simple piece of furniture! I really enjoyed this.

ds said...

Oh, my. Who could ever forget this sofa? All of the details are perfect, and I love the irony of the ending. Wonderful, wonderful poem Lydia. Thank you.

Lydia said...

jane~ I am so happy you liked it! Thanks.

Claudia~ Many thanks. Now that you used the word "brewed," I realize I could have added some beverage that surely might have been spilled on a couch.

Mary Ann Potter~ Thank you for visiting my blog and leaving such a fun comment. "Epic"...I got a real kick out of that description of the poem!

ds~ Thank you for your comment; it was much, much appreciated. (Tess has given us a prompt with a red umbrella and a red couch....what could be next, I wonder...)

anthonynorth said...

This was beautifully composed, placing memories in vivid reality. Excellent.

Lydia said...

anthonynorth~ Thank you very much!

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