in the back of a drawer:
your lipstick
slide open twist
red slice inhale and
snow like stars on cars
the way you carried me
half moon trundled and
sleep-breath cloud
lifting both of us
from a day like any other
marked by tattoo
kiss on fevered forehead
sweet dreams tiptoe
door gently closing
.
.
Join us over at dVerse Poets for Poetics with a prompt to
write a poem about a memory evoked by scent.
.
January 5th, 2016 at 11:15 am
There is a very subtle, soft and gentle sensuality to this poem. The last stanza carries me away….
January 5th, 2016 at 11:33 am
Kelly, this is wonderful – that smell of lipstick contains a whole childhood… The gentle closing of the door brings back memories even though my mother rarely wore lipstick
January 5th, 2016 at 12:45 pm
Love the title and red slide inhale and also this part:
half moon trundled and
sleep-breath cloud
Very subtle yet effective verses ~ Thank you for the wonderful prompt Kelly ~ Enjoy your week ~
January 5th, 2016 at 3:05 pm
I was also smitten by the same lines Grace pointed out ‘half moon trundled and sleep-breath cloud’. The kiss on the fevered forehead is also such a universal, yet you make it concrete with that tattoo image. Beautiful childhood memories captured in a single scent.
January 5th, 2016 at 3:07 pm
Lovely, brimming beyond brevity, I haven’t had to deal with lipstick for 50 years; forgot that it had a scent. Lipstick on my collar while wearing hair oil back in the day; love was a messy business.
January 5th, 2016 at 3:11 pm
I can smell my Grandmother’s lipstick in my mind to this day. Subtly sweet but I would know it anywhere. A sweet poem of caring – wonderful loving memory. Thank you for the prompt.
January 5th, 2016 at 3:18 pm
I can just picture a couple of sleepy kids being picked up out of the car by their mom…just awake enough to notice that lipstick, but too tired to care about anything other than the fact that they feel safe and content.
January 5th, 2016 at 4:01 pm
You painted a picture and I can see and smell it. Lovely and brief
January 5th, 2016 at 4:09 pm
Thanks for an excellent prompt, Kelly! I love the “sweet dreams tiptoe”… a soft and gentle memory.
January 5th, 2016 at 5:14 pm
I love that line about kisses on a fevered forehead. A great image, and great alliteration.
January 5th, 2016 at 5:38 pm
I’m taken with ‘tattoo / kiss on fevered forehead’– an evocative piece of writing
January 5th, 2016 at 7:36 pm
Such a dream-like quality to this poem 😀 love it!
January 5th, 2016 at 8:13 pm
Oh, my. This is so visceral, and so beautiful.
Love the prompt. Thank you!
January 5th, 2016 at 10:01 pm
So sweet. It brings back good memories, and kisses on foreheads are so tender.
January 5th, 2016 at 10:02 pm
Oh yes, I could write a scent-u-al poem on my mother’s makeup and perfumes. I loved this. It seems told through the hazy memory of a young child where you get bits and pieces…just beautiful.
January 5th, 2016 at 10:32 pm
I love ‘snow on cars like stars’.. this a universal poem, I think. Very well done. Wish I had thought of something so touching.
January 6th, 2016 at 5:29 am
Very subtle…lovely and really absolutely poetic!
January 6th, 2016 at 1:21 pm
I love the tiptoe of those sweet dreams. Nice prompt at dVerse, by the way!
January 6th, 2016 at 5:32 pm
Interesting imagery in this. It’s very surreal. Peace, Linda
January 8th, 2016 at 2:05 pm
Butterfly Pink….thank you for reminding me of Mom’s favorite.