“Valentine’s Day Coils”:

 

It was 1997

and the Redwoods

of Santa Cruz seemed

to nuzzle around me

with a naturally echoed scarf

of something called home.

The line between revulsion

…and blinding beauty…

seemed blurred under

a red cabin moon

along the coiling asphalt

toward green sick shadows

somewhere in Boulder Creek.

Color cushioned waves

surrounded my mind

through enchanted fluffy songs

sung magically by mushrooms

and the snowy river bends

of railed white powder lines…

augmented by amber hues

of rich malted ales.

Someone feasted upon

whole cooked chicken

gray with grease and bone

prompting grinning sickness

as he devoured

the braised flaky flesh.

I was fixed and captured

within some animated line

of hypnotic obsession

over what seemed

a grossly royal extreme.

Last year we missed

the silken modulation

of shimmering sovereignty

held by our cradling hands

on Valentine’s Day.

This second I feel

the strumming melodies

of your green eyes

devouring a bruised soul

with reckless stimulation.

A sultry seduction

whispers the suffocating hiss

of “might have…”

as if held captive by

the reckless snake

of a soporose memory.

Speak to me…

…with your lighted voice…

• Nathan Lindsay

https://asortofromance.wordpress.com/2015/02/11/valentines-day-coils/