I will not go
Head first
Into the green water
The muck and leaves, the cloying vines
Of the darkness down there
The sand and silt, the unforgiving stone,
The uneven, unpredictable edges
Of the darkness down there
Though, lord knows,
I have tried.
Tried and failed.
I hesitate every time.
And then I jump awkwardly:
My hands joined over my head
My eyes wide open facing the horizon
My back caught
In a stiff, reluctant curve.
My feet go first.
I am confident
My legs will accomplish
What my head never will
In the same way
I jump into
Your vocabulary
Of love
47 Comments
The hesitation is almost palpable in this verse Sandy. You never fail to amaze me. This is one I'll come back to often I'm sure. I haven't read it before, so I couldn't remember it... but I do. You know how that is?
ReplyDeleteI love the twist at the end--not expected and fits perfectly.
ReplyDeleteI jump into
ReplyDeleteYour vocabulary
Of love
What a nice thought.
fascinating. I thought at first a duck jumping into water then the twist at the end got me. Amazing!
ReplyDeleteAmen
ReplyDeleteAloha from Hawaii, Sandy
Comfort Spiral
What an intriguing take on this prompt Sandy. I really enjoyed reading your interpretation.
ReplyDeleteSo beautiful, Sandy! And what a great take on the prompt! Like Pietro I love the phrase, "I jump into your vocabulary of love"! Marvelous! Hope you have a great weekend!
ReplyDeleteSylvia
I love the cadence and imagery in this poem ... delightful!
ReplyDeleteJP/deb
I could see the silhouette of decision through the hesitation. Beautiful, Sandy.
ReplyDeleteIf I were there, I would have pushed you in.
ReplyDeleteExpanding on the hesitation before a plunge is good but, as always, it is the natural world as it is siphoned through your pen that thrills me.
You narrow your eye and catch the glint of gold in the brush, leaves and across the surface of a pond.
The glint of what is yours. Of what needs to be told.
Sandy, I am thinking about standing on that ledge, getting ready to jump into the water, yet hesitating before the leap of faith. Maybe that same lept that is tied to love? Nice imagery caught in the beginning.
ReplyDeleteunpredictable...very nice...!
ReplyDeletebeautiful write:)
ReplyDeleteLove the two images of "reluctant curve" and your "vocabulary of love". A great write!
ReplyDeleteGently does it. Fools rush in, where angels fear to tread.
ReplyDeleteI was wondering you were kind of afraid of diving into the waters your head might bumped into rocks and your body immersed in dirt...
ReplyDeleteBut it was just a wonderful twist...diving into a wonderful vocabulary of love? Hey, this is just as exciting and never an hesitation is it Sandy!
Loved it so much!
Have a great week ahead dear!
Dare I interpret letting your body take you where your mind never will? Great interpretation of the prompt, Sandy.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful lines at the end.
ReplyDeleteI'm with you!
ReplyDeletethe cadence and imagery in this poem _ is very lovely ..
ReplyDeleteThe ending came quite unexpected - what a turn!
ReplyDeleteVery sweet Sandy :D Ain't life made up of leaps with the head going first? :)
ReplyDeleteIncredibly beautiful...this touched me deeply, as your words always do. I loved this:
ReplyDeleteMy legs will accomplish
What my head never will
Those lines resonated...it's always what's in my head that holds me back.
Sandy: Beautiful.
ReplyDeleteSandy, thank you for your comments on my poem. I am trying to capture the relationship of those virtual relationships on the web. Where over time, we "get to know someone" yet never actually meet. A desire can grow, yet the true person is always just out of reach. I am not sure if I captured but the obscurity is certainly there. My best, Rob.
ReplyDeleteI have certainly felt that hesitation. That scary descent into the murky pond of love. It is always so wonderful stepping out into the brilliant sunshine of that love.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful and unexpected. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteI have seen similar comments above, but I like this one for the ending and what it says about the reality of depth of feeling. It can be a dark and murky place from experience and it can lead to a hesitation to further forays in. However, we jump nonetheless, when we think less of the befores.
ReplyDeleteThis is simply wonderful.
ReplyDeleteI've stood at the edge facing that leap too many times... well written, and I found the resolution of your piece here to be wonderfully surprising.
ReplyDeleteOur legs sometimes take us places our head knows we shouldn't venture, but -- oh well... ;)
Here is my hesitation.
Wonderful flow to this and great choice of words and images. Loved it.
ReplyDeleteThis is wonderful, Sandy! You eased into the last very nicely, "I jump into Your vocabulary Of love"
ReplyDeleteMy vocabulary isn't all that deep, for sure go feet first to avoid head injury.
Second observation was my memories of jumping/diving the water falls in Hawaii in my younger days.
..
"in the same way i jump into your
ReplyDeletelove"... OoO... your poem reminds
me, my feelings at different times
in my life...the wanting to the
legs ready, and perhaps the heart,
the mind causing trouble.
This was just beautiful. You have such a wonderful way with words.
ReplyDeleteFeet first is how I came into this world .. so I advocate this approach whenever possible .. it gains entry and give the eyes a chance to focus... wonderful words
ReplyDeleteyou are the most amazing writer!!!Such a beautiful poem!! And I am so glad to have discovered you!
ReplyDeleteSo beautiful. The feeling of drowning and the hesitation of jumping. Lovely twist at the end.
ReplyDeleteWhat an awesome poem, Sandy! I wouldn't go into that water at all, so you are awful brave. I can feel every emotion and muscle when I read this.
ReplyDeleteWonderful, as usual.
ReplyDeleteLoved it-I could see it in a literal way-cause I learned to swim in a murky pond. But symbolically-for all sorts of things including love : )
ReplyDeleteWonderful poem Sandy and the twist at the end was like a reward for not hesitating. Great work.
ReplyDeleteMelanie
you have created the vision of murky waters well...tried and failed, great lines...and then head first into love...beautiful...
ReplyDeleteI love the confidence you have! I envy that! Nicely done Sandy!
ReplyDeleteIt makes me wonder whether you have ever seen anyone else go head first into that pool :)
ReplyDeleteRich and rewarding to read. Thought I liked "My feet go first.//I am confident//My legs will accomplish
ReplyDeleteWhat my head never will" but then it carried from there to something strong as well.
Loved the image of the “reluctant curve”. Lovely how this poem moves so naturally from doubt to faith.
ReplyDeletewe may never know what's in store for us we keep on hesitating :-)
ReplyDeleteThanks for being here.