Something Resembling an Introduction

Greetings:

Boy, this poem could define "revision" and "work-in-progress."

This poem started initially as a bunch of scribblings at a club in San Francisco. I was at a point where I was beginning to see closure in one part of my life, and through a blurred understanding I began to notice clarity.

From those scribblings I began piecing together fragments of previous poems -- certain lines, thoughts and ideas. Poems that, in some instances, had been around a very long time. Then a new chapter in my life began and I noticed renewal. From that point of renewal, I began adding to the fragmented scribblings and created this concept in the sequence of poems represented here.

As you can imagine, unity has been my primary goal and obstacle. I want it to be fragmented because that captures the essence (I hate that fucking word) of what I am going for. But I still haven't smoothed it out in way that makes me happy, and this is still too choppy for how I envision it.

So understand this is the current form and that this has taken many forms and will take many more forms. This poem definitely breathes and I can see myself working on this forever. It lives and changes as I do.

For some reason this is my favorite poem. There are lines I like. Transitions I like. Emotions I like. Etc. But there are also plenty of things I don't like and think needs work. But this poem speaks to a very raw and curious part of me. Its organic and shifting nature and shape captivate me as a writer, and I am honestly not interested in creating its final form.

Thus, this might be similar to the old cliche "a face only a mother could love" because I am not sure if it is suited for readership and critical eyes. Not sure if this vision can exist outside my own eyes and thoughts.

But here it is. If you can make sense of it, I hope you enjoy it.

Cheers
~vince

Valencia

i promise
her my return
so upon evening's dimming glow
she turns
and the first fog silks the city
blanketing
night's rest

before she fades
and i return to valencia
i look into her eyes
and implore time to forgive my absence
i must leave
but
she tells me:
"they play their music in mirrors
the little ones
who will one day regret their reflection
but today
they reach out to touch their hollowed image
and
recreate the child before them
someday you will return
i will be here
when you are ready"

driving into this dawning night
rain
races along the windshield
and i view street lamps ablur

let gods
and
better poets define imagery
i haven't the time
early morning darkens
black asphalt shines silver
the highway
makes demanding turns
and lanes under construction ...

besides
the bridge toll
approaches
and vapor has consumed
the night

i'm alone
my saliva tastes of iron
blood dotting the
tongue
coffee steams
the cup holder
slight mocha aroma
both hands
grip
the wheel
some asshole
cuts me off

off 80 to 101
to mission to 17 to
valencia
between 19 and 20

here
dull
orange vermilion lies
excites
amnesia
aloof
attention
and
slightly eroded eyes

everything here painted blind
in
crimson tones that
drape the room in diluted wax
lust dances on stage in cabaret lingerie
and the hint of folk jazz illuminates my outline
like the muted lamp over my shoulder

i’m home
here
singing the lightning’s lone verse

black night dressed in red
black night
right
alone
another black night
craving moon light
lit
with slight spite
of its hollow promise
promise promise
black night
riding red
writing tonight
of a
five-year love
three years dead
arriving at midnight's thunder
lit black
tonight
in red night

nostalgia writes poetry in
smoke circles
rising to touch the dark lavender
sky
asserts itself in minor scales
on a perfectly played piano
chilling the drizzling rain
and reminding me it’s time to cry

in a new bed
tonight
praying to a colorless god
here
alone
where
i've watched dead love die
when new moon light dawns
and i fly on the dizzied
wings of lust
in a sheetless bed
touching new skin
licking new lips
going inside and coming too fast
knowing sex is a moment
and love is an endless
breath
eternal
when naked bodies touch and make nervous minds relax

but alas i lie
next to a hollowed image
reaching
nakedcolorlessnight
dreamingred
blackdizzy