Be Brave and Other Things You Tell Yourself
like it’s popular to be tan and you white as death
think how time could earn you a darker shade if spent it out red
and blistered for a slip span
just in time for the popular to shift -and you damaged
pulled out by tide
washed up by tide
bleached of all know how and want –
like so much sand
idling for want of a horizon
best to pulse courage ain’t rely on borders so far
you can pinch its strait
-with one pull unravel
best to pulse courage
a gravity shaping the tide and you and all you stand on
Posted on January 19, 2012, in D Loeven, Poem and tagged poetry. Bookmark the permalink. 6 Comments.
D Loeven
Ian Whatley
rosemary
trillianhw
UpstateFictionFactory
wmburns
Upstate Fiction Factory 
Excellent work of poetry
Worthy of many accolades
Oh ya… she’s back!!! Love it!
Pulses courageously.
One question on grammar (hypothetical, I suppose):
“best to pulse courage ain’t rely on borders so far”
I understand ‘ain’t’ to be a contraction meaning ‘is not.’ However, given the infinitive ‘to pulse’ before courage, wouldn’t ‘dain’t’ be correct? This would be the equivalent contraction of ‘does not.’ For agreement, the line would then read:
“best to pulse courage dain’t rely on borders so far”
As I said, it’s hypothetical. I like this poem.
Ian, thank you for your comment. I failed to say so. I value your input. Thank you. Twice for lack of once on time.
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Hmm. I’ve done the awkward attach (-kinda like that.) It should be ‘best to pulse courage’ and ‘best to ain’t rely on borders so far’ – but, leaving out the bonus best, or a dash, or “…” or a new line start, in hopes to also attach the meaning that courage shouldn’t come from future hope but current hope – leaving this very poor grammar structure (seen again here.) Mrs. Palmer, bless you, I apologize. (English teacher, best ever. Always taking time to decorate the margins of my papers with happy red birds… Without lilt of sarcasm, I truly adore her. And I do like the dain’t. It sounds properly backwoods. I’m sore tempted to pinch it… Rework in the works. (I’ve sorely lost my hold on grammar.)
Your poem for me was like a food that is good for your health and natural but one that the taste buds are not accustomed to. One must eat it several more times to acquire a taste for it. This was true of your wonderful poem; after reading it several times I began to get the meaning of it. This leads me to believe that a person and their mind will not comprehend what comes from the spirit unless they themselves are in the spirit. Thanks for sharing this spiritual treasure with us.