To the stranger with the grocery basket.

by Poet on the Piano   Aug 11, 2014


Please, don't mind my stare.
There's nothing wrong with how you look,
your trousers aren't stained with coffee,
there isn't a blemish on your face,
nothing scary is about to jump down on your neck.

I am just admiring your arms,
and how strange that sounds even in my
lonely, often morbid thoughts. Your arms,
like sand dunes, kites rolling over in laughter,
cupping the sun in all its glory.

Your tawny skin, it reminds me of beaches
I have never journeyed to, only have heard
in whispers of a lingering summer where
coral reefs drink in the waves' force and
try to remind the coastline that this
is not the end.

Beaches don't try to hide in shame when storms
roll onto their backs, though they cry to passersby
and are abandoned, emotions stirred,
they carry their scars until God's hand
turns over seeds of new life.

- And your arms are exposed, a pulse beneath,
a tempest within -

I apologize for peering too long, I promise
I'm turning away now, I won't
follow you to the end of the liquor aisle...
this isn't about self-pity, I know what
I have done and who is to blame,
but God truly gave you beautiful skin
and I hope you don't waste that

gift.

Maybe someday, I will walk barefoot
on a coast that has never introduced itself to me,
and I will find peace in living without

regret.

-
Written 8/10/14

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Latest Comments

  • 10 years ago

    by JaneDoeWrites

    So glad this was nominated. This is absolutely stunning work. Love, love, love it.

  • 10 years ago

    by Everlasting

    I couldn't help but giggle lol

    Nice piece. It's a normal reaction. We all look at others. Specially to the parts mentioned in this piece. The skin, the face,... No blemishes... Good skin. And in a way this piece reflects some type of vulnerability. I like how your voice comes alive. And how in a way, this poem is more of how you are appreciating that other someone. How you by looking at this someone you are comparing yourslef.. And the things you would like to do and don't do for X reason. This piece comes like a meditative piece to me. As if you are reflecting on your life.

    mm there's more I can draw from it, but overall, I liked it. Take care

  • 10 years ago

    by Everlasting

    I couldn't help but giggle lol

    Nice piece. It's a normal reaction. We all look at others. Specially to the parts mentioned in this piece. The skin, the face,... No blemishes... Good skin. And in a way this piece reflects some type of vulnerability. I like how your voice comes alive. And how in a way, this poem is more of how you are appreciating that other someone. How you by looking at this someone you are comparing yourslef.. And the things you would like to do and don't do for X reason. This piece comes like a meditative piece to me. As if you are reflecting on your life.

    mm there's more I can draw from it, but overall, I liked it. Take care

  • 10 years ago

    by Beautiful Soul

    Wow... Nominated!

    Being able to take a simple idea and make it a wonderful metaphor poem is beyond me!. There seems to always be something about a person that we find interesting. Here it was the arms?. That what is seemed like. I believe also you could interpret this poem as "be yourself" in some ways or don't be ashamed what others think. The beach stanzas I Luke as they show how beautiful a person can be inside and out. The emotions are wonderful. You go from interest to maybe embarrassed to thinking or even envy. What makes me say that is the last few lines. This person you are staring at is not afraid and you want to be them and live without regret. How the story unfolds is great. I'm blown away!

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