Definitions

I am...

pigtails
scuffed knees

my grandfather's toy,
warnings, 'don't tell'
hands on my body
mouth on my face

tears for a first love
who didn't love me
crinolines starched in circles
holding poodle skirts wide

swoons over Elvis
at Heartbreak Hotel,
We Like Ike
and polio shots

grandfather's stench,
arms binding me down
i'm big now...
you can't get me again

tumbles into love
a dozen times, maybe more
the world around me changing,
as Rod Stewart rasped, Joplin OD'd
and the Washington Wall wept,
too many lives late

riding roughened seas,
boat battened down,
facing the storms
trembling inside
rain on my face
not turning back

all of these things,
none of them, either
hungry and wanting,
but at home in my skin,
some ghosts still lingering
some routed out
hands in a fist
arms opened wide

Pris Campbell
©: 2002

Art:  Dream of Desire by Elena Retfalvi
copyrighted and used with permission

Elena Retfalvi has appeared on my pages before. Her gift lies in capturing the essence of emotion in her photographs. A visit to her site is a must.

Music: Air That I Breathe

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