DISTANT TOUCH

She danced down a line

of near dead neurons,

pirouetted forgotten axons

and touched my skin like

a new struck match, branded 

my eyes with new images

of old things long forgotten.

Breathing again, they emerge

from behind stone walls and

dead wood to stand naked,

demanding attention, and I look,

moved again by those lost emeralds,

friends forgotten,

love in ashes.

She gripped my bones with a hand

so cold, I froze and could

not think or live or die,

but loved that touch of distant torture

and to this day

dream the hollow dreams

of hope.

Author's Note

From 1997, one of those times I fell in love. Kimberly and I did good for 18 years, then she died.

Reviews

[Rosie E C…]

Thank you for visiting my page and leaving a wonderful comment, Vol.

It’s so strange receiving one when it’s been so long.

This a very moving piece. Full of warmth and tenderness.

A thoughtful read and sorry for the loss of your partner. x

[Lorry]

Its all about perspective Vol. I've said it before and I'll say it again, but you were there man! Sharing that life and enjoying every minute of it.
Sometimes it can feel like our very own suffrage to outlive someone, but as long as you breathe, you will remember her and although not in the way you hoped, she lives on within you.
It might seem like the antithesis of polishing a t**d, but give it a fancy name (copralite) and miraculously s**t sells (especially if a dinosaur pooped it out!)
Who would thought being an old fossil would become cool again!
And that my friend, is sincerity, from one old dinosaur to another!

[Curly Grace]

There’s a quiet shiver in this piece, the way memory flares and freezes at once. The images rise with such ache, and the ending leaves a faint, haunting glow of hope. Beautifully done, Vol

[Vol]

Curly,
It is so funny how I keep getting the nicest reviews when I post poems, I dn't thing are my best. I DID a major rework on it though, so it's bettter now. But I still have trouble figuring out what to submit when asked... And in the desert, I rely on you and others, and freely admit, I need to spend some time somewhere there are old friends for advice.
Vol

[Curly Grace]

i feel that in my bones. Sometimes it's nice to shoot ideas back and forth and images... it does help my friend...

[Thomas W Case]

There’s a haunted beauty in this—memory and desire tangled in frostbitten nerve.
You make longing feel dangerous and tender all at once, like fire cupped in bare hands.

[Vol]

Thomas
Thanks, I sometimes tjink all the best of love carries the same danger as a torny rose, no sting, no beauty.
Vol

[jacob erin-cilberto]

"Touched my skin like a new struck match" I wish I had written that, Vol.
This is so beautiful and so sad...and the last stanza has such an eerie touch to it.
Love this poem. One of my very favorites from you.

j.

[Vol]

Jacob,
It is always interesting to me hhow when I post a poem Iow on my list... I've considered this one forever, but for some reason think it's not up to snuff...revealing once again my lack of discernment. It happens like this almost every time I feel that way... hmmm
Vol

[Betty Hermelee]

Dear Vol
There are so many facets to love, including torture....memories, joyful and hurtful, but we push hard to savor those igniting moments that are just our secrets..."loved that touch of distant torture" .....this is a sad moment... when love turns to ashes....and we are alone...
Warmly, B

[Vol]

Betty,
Thank you...
Love as an emotion is at the very best an ocean of turmoil. I wonder what percentage of love poems address the heartbreak as stronger than the joy? When I tink of Barbara's mile coming down the aisle and her look of failure twelve years later... it is Keats' "La Belle Dame Sans Merci," all over gain.
Vol

[GlendasNotAlwaysaBadwit..]

Vol, that final stanza tells me that it's clear there is no hope...But you always hold to it even after all this time. Even after the end. You still dream of that hope..
That's what life is about.
Just beautiful as always.

[Brandon Houser]

This would make Kimberly so proud. Your words are sad but if you can find the beauty in sadness, then the reader will know how beautiful she was. Thanks for sharing

[Vol]

We were mostly happy...