Maypole

May is the languor
following April’s cruelties,
yielding up the flowers
Constance Chatterley
wove around the base
of the maypole
that drew her dancing feet.

May lends itself well
to dancing feet
sustaining bodies
willing to fall
into the rhythms
dictated by the ancient dance
around the maypole.

Our gyrations
are limited only
by lengths of silken ribbons
as we wind in and out.
Until at last we are spent,
my voice just a whisper,
as I rest besides you
sighing your name.

Summer Sunflower by Christine Greenwood Strieb. 
Original art at her Etsy store, Dragonfeather Art Work.


This poem was inspired by the prompt given by Magaly Guerrero for Dark Poetry for the Cruelest Month: Yesterday Never Dies, which told me to look at the prompt given over at Imaginary Gardens for Real Toads: Poetizing the Maypole

40 comments:

  1. The flush of freedom and happy smiles...a very beautiful image you have painted XXX

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  2. Until at last we are spent,
    my voice just a whisper,
    as I rest besides you
    sighing your name.

    Such a gorgeous close..!! Love this :D

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  3. A romantic connection with an old tradition.

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  4. This is beautiful Rommy! "Our gyrations are limited only..." Lends to vivid and delightful imagination.😊

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    Replies
    1. Those with more vivid imaginations certainly have quite a bit to work with here. :D

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  5. This has such a Victorian feel to it, proper with a hint of naughty at the end. Lovely, Rommy!

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  6. Oh, lovely! I did like the Lady Chatterley reference, too, remembering those garlands.

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    Replies
    1. Yay! I was hoping someone remembered the reference. I remember how vividly that passage struck me when I read it.

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  7. Replies
    1. I may have fanned myself after I finished it. :D

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  8. I shall grin at that last stanza for days. You wicked woman, you. And yes, what Debra said too! ;-D

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    Replies
    1. *snicker* Wicked is what I was shooting for.

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  9. The magic of May and spring, of change and love... yes that's exactly why we love the maypole and what it bring.

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  10. Beautiful poem! For me, this line:

    "rhythms
    dictated by the ancient dance" and your closing with "sighing your name" love those details as well.

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  11. This is lovely and romantic, fitting for the day,,,

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  12. There is such a sense of freedom in this...dance until you're breathless.

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    Replies
    1. Expending all that energy does leave a body short of breath.

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  13. Gorgeous, silken, dancing.

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  14. LOVE this:
    May lends itself well
    to dancing feet

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  15. luv the last stanza and your sensuous ending

    mine is HERE

    much love...

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  16. Wonderful poem, loved the ending imagery created...I think the temperature just went up in here from reading it. :)

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  17. This sounds like you've done May Pole dances, Roomy. I hadn't realized it would make a person tired. Our school May Pole dancing was fun but the teacher who called it couldn't make it work very good.
    ..

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    Replies
    1. I've danced a few times at a couple of different fairs.

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  18. Naughty, and beautiful! Love Rommy! Happy May!

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