“When It Ended” – original love poetry, circa 1981

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pictured, “Poems for Lovers Loving & Being Loved” ebook by Felipe Adan Lerma

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“a beginner’s view : the intent of this blog is to incrementally build a body of thought that works toward integrating various topics, yoga, fitness, and the arts – it’s a process…”

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submitted to dVersepoets.com for “borders” prompt

hosted by claudia, resident member of site

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“when it ended” – original poetry, circa 1981

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this was an important time for me, half a life ago

and this is my oldest recorded poem i have, published in the university of houston clear lakes’s student publication, the bayousphere in 1982

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When it Ended

Atlanta

late in the morning,

stopping by the road,

morning air sticking to my face

*

I sucked blood from my knuckles

torn

switching the old tire

*

as i looked back to Atlanta

its rivers of towers

with two or three lights

still peeping

over the slant of the hills.

*

Coasted the Gulf

to Louisiana.

White ribbons of hot concrete

leading me

over the green stump swamps

to Orange

where i bridged the mud

of the Sabine.

*

Saw

a hundred steel steeples spitting

balls of white fire

into the night sky,

*

down to the Valley

where the trees                        disappeared

*

then reappeared

all the limbs

and trunks

shrunken over resting

old folks

darkened wrinkled and dying —

*

Crossed the wet borders.

Theirs.     Ours.

Yours.

*

The flat hot roofs and white streaked sky

slanting

to

the desert —

*

Found, on the red sands,

a town with a woman.

*

She rocked me slowly

and

sang me songs

telling me tales,

floating me in her

tiny brown waves

of singing wet flesh

leaving

me

shivering

til

i

floated,

til

i

sang

(hoarsely)

all my tales

of my leavings,

my promise

to you.

© felipe adan lerma, jr  1981

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the only time i’ve lived outside texas, before our current planned move to vermont, was when i was in the air force, stationed in northwest florida

sometimes i’d do the 12 hour drive home to houston with the kids etc, and sometimes by myself, usually in one drive – now it’d probably take me two days!

the poem then, is a kinda compilation of remembered images, a detour through atlanta to play tourist, tire changes, plus mixes of feelings covering several years from the mid 70’s to 1980 or so

that was a time of endings and new beginnings 30 years ago

i remember feeling a kernel of hopefulness when i wrote this poem

reading this again the last few weeks, i sense that hopefulness even stronger

maybe cause another new beginning is beginning…

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through-out the month of may, as sheila and i prepare for our texas-to-vermont change-over, i’ll be posting images of painting and photos, plus more poems

maybe not every day, but at least several times a week

with an occasional usual yoga-fitness post 😉

*

namaste – con dios – god be with you

poetry series

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• Press Release – Poems for Lovers Loving & Being Loved (yoga-adan.com)
• “Angel Baby” – Enduring Poetry (yoga-adan.com)