Cowboy
Joni Mitchell has a lot to answer for…
Cowboy belongs to the following groups:
Blue Room, Graphic Scratch, Imperfectly, Melbourne & Victoria, The Word Tree and WMGHey cowboy
got a light?
it’s dark
there’s diamonds in the sky
and I want
to
come
in from the cold.
My throat is parched
my lungs are dusty
my heart is withered
with thirst
so
can you throw me
up
bareback
there
on your black horse
ride me
off into the sunset
where
we could drink
coconut rum
icy cold
with those little umbrellas
the colour you
imagine
tropical to be
I could suckle
the sticky coconut milk
from the corners of your mouth
my throat, my appetite
would finally be whet.
You could leave
your boots
dusty and worn
brown leather
like coffee skin
by my bed
my bed by the sea
in the place
where we’d live
on coconut rum
in the place
where I’d trace
the parts of me
the pieces of me
sewn into you
like patches of denim
over worn out holes.
I’d clear my garden
out for you
so you could crack
your whip
snap
crack
snap
I could be good
with a blade
for you
good at cutting back thorns
cleaving old brambles and burrs
so you could have your space
to crack your whip
so I could watch
the serpent
recoil
in black ink on your arm.
The only ones
who would know
about
the coconut rum
in the corners of your mouth
pooled in my
bellybutton
your boots
beside my bed
in our sea shack
with the cleared garden
with plenty of room for
serpents to hiss
and whips to crack
would be
you
me
and the ribbony tendrils
of miss platinum moon
that fall across your skin
when diamonds are in the sky.
We could tie
our secret up
tie it into knots
in those tendrils
add them to the knots
I’ve tied before
and set them free
into the dark sea
of steely lace clouds
where she keeps my garden
of knots
where she keeps all the times
she’s listened
to me
hum
sing
and wait for you.
Hey cowboy
got a light?
it’s dark
there’s diamonds in the sky
and I want
to
come
in from the cold.
copyright © 2009, Holly Ringland.
Philosophy Lee
Very nice! :)
Holly Ringland replied
thanks so much pl. the first verse came into my head while i was doing my yoga class last night and since this is the year of slaying my writing insecurities, i just let the words go to see where they’d run with my pen when i got home. so all in all, i’m really pleased you enjoyed the read. thank you.
CloudChaser
Incredible, Holly….got my heart thumping away again and I didn’t think anything could do that today!! xx
Holly Ringland replied
i don’t think there’s anything better than knowing that little words i pulled down from the fog of my imagination and threaded together in verse made your heart thump and stomp and beat in your ear today. that’s the incredible part cloud, thank you so much xx
butchart
pure majik….... sweet coconut rum in the corners of your mouth….... beautiful sensual imagery of dreamy hopes and desires…..... bravo….......b
Holly Ringland replied
butch… we’re in the middle of an unusual heatwave here at the moment and everyone keeps talking about how thirsty they are… so when i sat up last night because it was too hot to sleep, this unraveled and felt exactly that way to write… dreamy and otherworldly. plus i had joni playing which never fails to unlock words in my head. majik is always good and i’m delighted to know i evoked it here. thanks, thanks so much :)
ShadowDancer
you are astounding.. your poems play like movies in my mind and the words dance on my tongue like raindrops.. where I’d trace
.........”the parts of me
..........the pieces of me
..........sewn into you”
wow…. that really got to me, beautiful
Holly Ringland replied
hello my poetess friend (geez, i love that). you’re so kind with your words peej, so kind. astounding? how could i possibly have anything but a fabulous day now? thank you. and i love that you love that part in particular too.
aaronschwartz
full of drama and places and tastes and textures and dreams – nice work!!
Holly Ringland replied
thanks so much aaron, thank you for checking out my work… places and tastes and textures and dreams... i love that you found those things in my words.
Lisa Jewell
This piece is sticking to my tongue and mind. I want to swallow it whole but it has a mind of its own and wants to just sit and tease me.
In other words,
I adore it…..xxx
Holly Ringland replied
shucks ms g… i’m so glad you do. it kind of felt that way to write it, like all the words were stuck here and there and i had to ask them nicely to make sense of the pictures in my head. thanks so much xxx
PJ Ryan
the coconut rum
in the corners of your mouth
pooled in my
bellybutton
LOVE those lines … makes me think sooo many things lol like diving in belly buttons and swimming in cowboy boots. oh dear. look out.
xx
Holly Ringland replied
ha! look out indeed… you know when you put music on and all of a sudden there’s that tickle in your mind and the words start to flow? like diving in belly buttons and swimming in cowboy boots :) thank you gorgeous girl xx
Steve Strodder...
sensual, i love it! keep writing! never stop! You fill the air of so many red bubbles with your fantastic spinnings of words.
love this one alot, it leaves a residual feel afer you read it, one of the peices that never leave you after you’ve read it i think
Holly Ringland replied
steve, thank you so much for your comment, it made my positively grin. you humble me with your response and i thank you for reading. i’m really glad you enjoyed it.
Luke Downes
that made me feel like watching ‘she done him wrong’ or some other Mae West movie
Holly Ringland replied
well now luke, i don’t think there’s many things finer than the sassy growl and charm of mae west. if these words of mine evoked anything to do with her in your mind, then my pen is suitably chuffed. thank you :)
burntblue
oh god – so glorious. Your work is such a joy.
Holly Ringland replied
you’re so kind blue. getting your responses to my work is equal parts joy :) thank you dearly for reading, i appreciate it.
girlinthestars
this is stunning. hooked me in a snap.
Holly Ringland replied
oh goooood… it’s always the sweetest treat to know when someone’s read your words and jumped straight into them, just the way it felt to write them. thanks so much for ready amy jo.
bellmusker
Coconuts & cowboys….two of my favourite things. x
Holly Ringland replied
sigh… indeed darling, indeed :) xxx
Selkie
Sigh. Black serpent tattoos and coconut rum. A woman after my own heart :).
Wonderful as always, Holly!
nnimus3
you’ve captured the most elusive element of Romance… I can’t, which is why I can’t tell you what I think it is, only that’s it here.
Holly Ringland replied
this reply is so long overdue… but i had to leave it regardless… because your response, that somewhere in these words is buried the most elusive element of romance, is more than i could ask for anyone to feel reading this… thank you.
Selkie
Whoo! Thanks for adding this to Imps :)
Selkie
Three comments are the charm, my dear – and you’ve been featured in Imps :)
Holly Ringland replied
why, dear delightul zo, thank you so very much… i do love this piece, it means a great deal to me and so am utterly gleeful that it’s been featured in Imps :)
Shoaib .
hey holly .. read this twice and it was even better the 2nd time.. beautiful work
Holly Ringland replied
hey shoaib, thanks so much for reading… twice. i’m so pleased you enjoy my work… thank you for calling it beautiful.
oneperfectkiss
it was waaaaaaay better the second time and I couldn’t love you more Holly!! xxx
Holly Ringland replied
ah lovely j, thank you for the revisit… ‘tis always a treat when you devour and enjoy my words whether it’s the first or fiftieth time. thank you very very much.
TheWanderingBoo
beautiful piece of writing
madworld
I so love this piece…it reminds me of my man, sensual and sexy.