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| {Griffin Observatory photo: C. Vanderstouwe} |
It's a well-worn image: two lovers
pressed together, skin on skin, waist
over thigh & cheek on chest, hands
finger-laced & breaths trading.
It's a tired idea: a dissolution
of distance, after having seen,
tasted, touched every tissue;where
all that remains is to purr &
wonder ...
*
She assumes I am thinking—behind
my calm, seriously bent eyes—
something deeper than “I wonder
what my fingertips feel like on her.”
And she means—oh I don't know—
something like {I want you made into
part of me} when she laughs & hums
“You're funny” into my short
ribs...
And we are both unsure of anything
in this fragile-membraned combination
of mundane forms—
cliché as time, as the universe.
*
* “Mundane astrology is the application of astrology to world affairs and world events, taking its name from the Latin word Mundus, meaning "the World". Mundane astrology is a branch of Judicial astrology and is widely believed by astrological historians to be the most ancient branch of astrology. In the Middle Ages mundane astrology was more commonly known as the study of Revolutions - meaning the study of the revolutions of the planets in their apparent orbits around the Earth, as they were then believed to do.” - http://encyclopedia.thefreedictionary.com/Mundane+astrology
ReplyDelete“mun·dane adj.
1. Of, relating to, or typical of this world; secular.
2. Relating to, characteristic of, or concerned with commonplaces; ordinary.
[Middle English mondeine, from Old French mondain, from Latin mundnus, from mundus, world.]”
- http://www.thefreedictionary.com/mundane
There is something to be said for being content in the cacophony of the world around you; for having felt complete by being with someone and for a single instant having felt free of the background noise in everyday life. I think that's what this poem is trying to convey - that instance of being in love and wanting to appreciate the moment because it's so rare and such a contrast to the rest of the human condition. At the same time, though, it's all so fickle and mundane (hence why I reckon you included the definition in the comments) because the vast majority of people who have lived or ever will live have experienced this moment at least once in their lives. There is nothing particularly unique about it in the grand scheme of all things considered, but for the two lovers lying on top of one another, it is unique. It's cliche, but it's also highly personal to them. In that instance, nothing matters except for each other, and the mundane nature of the world seems to slip away and fade into nothingness like a shadow of doubt each may of had of their love during the golden hour at night.
ReplyDeleteThat’s my interpretation, at least, thanks for sharing it!