Sunday, February 28, 2010

Incantation



It burns me, the memory of that day –
            Like a forgotten image
            Jerked from behind my eyes.

From the window, we watched the night die.
The stars were iridescent raindrops on black glass.
And you looked at me with the mouth of solitude.
And I licked our sour blood from your lips –
            Lips devoured before they were kissed,
            Lips devoured with devotion.
And you built me a nest inside your heart –
            A nest in which to guard my tears.
And I looked at you with the mouth of solitude.
And you avoided the eyes of dying me –
            Like they were chips of glass from an accident
            You wanted to pretend you did not see.

There was no room for worship
            With the coming of morning.
And I had no gloves with which
            To grip the treadless night.

With sanitary eyes,
            We watched the sun rise
            And wash the heavens in
                        Blood and mercury and iodine.
And at noon, alone,
            A paradox without illusions,
            I gulped the white sky of July
                        From my open window.

and on the air fine dust trembled
and on the window ledge the sparrows fought for crumbs
and in my stomach your fire burned blue

And at dusk, the light faltered,
            Allowing one thousand darknesses.
But your light is unfaltering,
            World without end.

39 comments:

S. Susan Deborah said...

Nevine:

A strange restlessness devours me after I read and reread the 'Incantation.'

After reading your work for sometime, I can peel layers of personalities of THE woman. I can't help thinking all the women are THE woman and SHE has a thousand different faces like 'one thousand darknesses.'

Joy always,
Susan

Anonymous said...

This feels like an oath of onforgetting to me.
Well written.

Secretia

Christopher said...

I love the way you can take something as simple and everyday such as the spinning of the earth and make it so vivid and exciting.

Caio Fern said...

piercing inspiring .......i felt the atmosphere passing into my chest now .
thank you Nevine .

Owen said...

You have the power in your incantations, this one and your others, to transport us back in time, dredging up memories, searing connections, waves washing over us, tumbling us in the roiling waters, tossing us up on the beach panting with the salty recollection of distant nights on beaches and early awkward attempts at finding solace in the arms of another...

Love the line about chips of glass from an accident here... it brought to mind a song that I love from Bruce Cockburn... Night Train, especially for the line about glass shards in dark hair :

Not a knife throw from here you can hear the night train passing
That's the sound somebody makes when they're getting away
Leaving next week's hanging
jury far behind them
Prisoner only of the choices they have
made
Night Train...Night Train...

Ice cube in a dark drink
shines like starlight
The moon is floating somewhere out at sea
On an island in the blur of noise and color
Alcatraz, St. Alina, Patmos and the
Chateau D'if
Night Train...Night Train...

And everyone's an
island edged with sand
A temporary refuge where somebody else can
stand
Till the sea that binds us like the forced tie of a blood oath
Will wear it down, dissolve it, recombine it

Anyone can die here they do it
every day
It doesn't take much effort though it goes against the grain
And the ultimate forgetfulness of violence
Sweeps the landscape
like a headlight of a train

Night Train...

Ice cube in a dark
drink shines like starlight
Starlight shines like glass shards in dark
hair
And the mind's eye tumbles out along the steel track
Fixing every shadow with its stare

Night Train...Night Train...

And in the absence of a vision there are nightmares
And in the absence of compassion
there is cancer
Whose banner waves over palaces and mean streets
And the rhythm of the night train is a mantra

=======

Which can be heard here :

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LvPYnYup47I

Bon dimanche Nevine...

A Cuban In London said...

What to say abou a line like this?

'And I had no gloves with which
To grip the treadless night.'

Poetry sometimes takes us to places we'd rather forget. But when well-written like yours, I will accept the punishment. I shall add no more.

Greetings from London.

Anonymous said...

I have reread this five times...my first instinct went to vampires, I thought after reading it a few more times it would change, but it did not, just got deeper, the restless soul, the longing for night.....beautiful my friend, love it.

Kay said...

dang! definately one to be read over and over... absolutely captivating!

GYPSYWOMAN said...

what an exotic journey into the world of your wordpictures! beautifully poignant and powerful! loved it, nevine! just magnificent!

Jo Potter said...

Hi Nevine,
I like this poem very much... It reminded me of the passion between two vampires... Am I right?
Is this poem about vampires?
I think it is the line... 'I licked our sour blood from your lips', that made me think it was a vamp poem!:)
I also love the painting. I have painted a picture very similar to this, on a big canvas, with a very red sky.
I hope you are well, it is always good to see you and read your powerful poetry.
Jo.x:)

Cynthia said...

"And you built for me a nest in your heart".
Oh my gosh. I adore the words of this poem,
Nevine. I find this poem to be spiritually
comforting.

Judith Mercado said...

Nevine, yours is such a light touch and yet it is one that sears with close contact. There is so much to love here. Some of my favorite lines:

"And you looked at me with the mouth of solitude.

"I had no gloves with which
To grip the treadless night."

Eva said...

Wow Nevine, that was unbelievable. I don't know if I can write ever again after reading such powerful words. "And I licked our sour blood from your lips – Lips devoured before they were kissed,Lips devoured with devotion." I loved that line.

Dulçe ♥ said...

You have a heart of gold a soul of blue fire... and I love every single thing you write, because your words come from those two sacred, unique places of yours--my dear QUEEN!

Nevine Sultan said...

Susan – Oh, Susan… your comment… do we somehow share a soul? You amaze me with your discerning mind, Susan. Truly!

Secretia – In some ways, it is an “oath of unforgetting”, as you so eloquently put it, Secretia. I like that phrase…

Christopher – Everything in life that seems ordinary is actually far from ordinary, at least as I see it… if we stop to think it over. You know what I mean? Yeah, Christopher… I know you do.

Caio – “piercing”… Now that was quite a word, Caio! I’ll have to steal that one for a future piece, you know! ;-)

Owen – And aren’t we all human? And though we believe ourselves to be so different, aren’t we all, in the end, the same? And why is it that, quite often, something I’ve written reminds you of a song? Those are some painful lyrics, Owen. Painful, but then again, we can all relate, right? I think so. Bon dimanche à toi aussi, Owen! :-)

Cuban – I do hate that you felt punished… But yes, I know what you mean about memories and going places we’d rather not… and how reading something can do that to us, especially when we’re caught with our defenses down. Thank you for sharing your favorite line, by the way… That was your favorite, I assumed? :-)

Steven – I always think that the beauty of reading poetry is that it allows for so many interpretations. I actually wasn’t thinking vampires at all. I do love vampire literature in all forms, but I’m too chicken to actually dabble in it, myself. I think it might come across as fake, you know what I mean? But hey, if this read like a vampire poem to you, and you read it a few times, then I am totally flattered, Steven. Really!

Nevine Sultan said...

Kay – Hey, thank you! :-)

Jenean – Oh, thank you. You’re just too sweet. It is a bit sad, isn’t it? But, let me think… when was the last time I wrote something bubbling with joy? ;-)

Jo – I figured it might have been that line that got both you and Steven thinking vampires. To be honest, I didn’t think vampires for a minute while writing this. But if you’re reading vampires, Jo, then that’s just fine by me. Actually, in that line, I was thinking more that the two lovers had kissed one another so passionately, they had made one another bleed. But I think poetry is best enjoyed when the writer isn’t trying to impose her thoughts on the reader, yeah? ;-) And that is such a beautiful painting, isn’t it? I’m sure yours is lovely, too. I know how talented of an artist you are. Thank you for stopping in and sharing your thoughts, Jo! :-)

Cynthia – I think it was spiritually comforting to write, actually, though it’s ultimately sad that they had to part. Still, physical separation is only one dimension. As long as the spiritual connection continues, something solid remains.

Judith – I am so deeply touched by your comment, Judith… you can’t imagine! And searing fires are not always burning fires, are they? ;-) I would hope not. Thanks to you for sharing your favorite lines. That is always appreciated!

Eva – Oh, you can write, girl! You sure as hell can write. And thank you for the incredible comment!

Dulce – How very sweet you are, really. I do write from my heart and soul, but it takes a soul as gentle as yours to truly see that. See? I know a little something… ;-) Love you, Dulce!

Jai Joshi said...

Nevine,

My breath caught reading this. I felt like there was something from every conversation I've ever had in this poem. It was so vivid:

"The stars were irridescent raindrops on black glass."

"I gulped the white sky of July."

Stunning. The lines that others have mentioned are gorgeous too.

There was something so sad and yet ominous too in this poem. Then there was also tenderness. I couldn't decide whether I was afraid or in a whirlwind romance. If I wanted the night to remain or the light to come and make the shadows go away.

Brilliant work. You really should publish an anthology of your poems.

Jai

Cildemer said...

"And you built me a nest inside your heart –
A nest in which to guard my tears."

Ah, Nevine! Que de tendresse dans ces deux lignes!

"And at dusk, the light faltered,
Allowing one thousand darknesses.
But your light is unfaltering,
World without end."

Mais que de mélancolie aussi!
Comme quand on aime vraiment de tout son coeur;-)

***
Bisous and one thousand stars shining bright through the darkness*******

khulud khamis said...

Nevine darling, you never cease to surprise... the whole poem felt building up a sadness, and I was sure the sadness would envelop the whole thing all the way to the end, growing in certainty at the next-to-last lines
"And at dusk, the light faltered, Allowing one thousand darknesses."
But then you make the twist with
"But your light is unfaltering,
World without end."

and though surprising, it is so natural of an end.

as always, I enjoy reading your poems, especially last thing before turning off the computer - I like to go to bed with the memory of some of your lines.

hugs,
khulud

steveroni said...

NEVEENNNNN! Oh, you have done it, Awesome wordings, I shall not ask what you meant by them, for the meaning to me is what counts. A work like your takes two, the giver and one who receives. ...or the Creator, and one who is raised to a higher plateau by reading, listening, seeing, touching.

How I loved this one: "And you built me a nest inside your heart –"

And OH! That light of ?? shining brightly during a thousand nights of utter darkness...forever! As you wrote it:

"Allowing one thousand darknesses.
But your light is unfaltering,
World without end."

I will read it again...and learn!

Thank you for visiting steveroni. I have responded over there to your comment (and others)...

Anonymous said...

Lips devoured before they were kissed...

WOW Nevine...i had to read this many times, not because I didnt understand it, because it was that good.. It was good for me to hear it, does that make sense?

kim said...

"... and i had no gloves with which to grip the treadless night."

perfect.
XXX, Kim

Martin said...

In darkness, the senses are heightened. Our commitment gains strength, as does the prospect of loss. A painful paradox that can only be accommodated in the arms of faithful love.

Nevine Sultan said...

Jai – It is a piece filled with contradictions, definitely. But so often, our most intimate and tender relationships have that flavor of bittersweetness, don’t they? And you know what? I’m actually thinking about self-publishing this summer. I’m still in the thinking process, but I’m thinking strongly. So thanks for the encouragement!

Crémilde – True love seems to wallow in contradictions, don’t you think? Sadness and joy coexist. It’s inexplicable, but it always seems that way. Gros bisous for you as well, my sweet friend. I hope your beautiful étoiles are guarding you and yours! :-)

Khulud – Isn’t it so true, though, that when we love someone, even in their absence, their light continues to beam in our life? I am so flattered by your comment, truly! Hugs back to you.

Steve – You are absolutely right about the need for your own interpretation, especially with poetry. The light of true love shines just as true, doesn’t it? I know you know that, Steve. I really know you do. :-)

Sir Thomas – It makes complete sense. Sometimes, poetry can only be enjoyed when recited aloud. There is so much that we miss when we read silently, and so much more that we hear when we can hear the words. Thank you for that very flattering comment, Sir Thomas.

Kim – Hello, and thank you for leaving that “perfect” comment. I really appreciate that!

Martin – It is quite the paradox, and we become that very paradox, don’t we? And “faithful love” does say it all.

Betty Manousos said...

Nevine, you are a real master of creating intense, vivid images and your poems are food for our heart /mind/soul! your poems have become an endless inspiration to me.
The wheels of your imagination/poems have been -so beautifully- set in motion .And always will.
Betty xxx

Marie K. said...

Hello Nevine,
What a wonderful poem one more time, and so melancolic at the same time. Some kind of sadness's raining in it on that particular night. And I do love the following passage - the day after - you observing throughout the window and linking your inner feeling with the never ending nature :

"And at noon, alone,
A paradox without illusions,
I gulped the white sky of July
From my open window.
and on the air fine dust trembled
and on the window ledge the sparrows fought for crumbs
and in my stomach your fire burned blue
[...]
But your light is unfaltering,
World without end. "

So beautiful picture (in and out). Thanks Nevine. As you can see, I make efforts to dépasser my difficulties et je suis heureuse que tu m'aies permis de me sentir encouragée à te laisser un commentaire. Je regrette juste de ne pas être assez performante pour te répondre plus parfaitement dans ta langue.
Je t'embrasse my new friend. Marie

Rick said...

Nev- I liked the gulping the white sky of July, but I liked much. You always seem to take us up quickly and let us down gently. I like that. Fine writing. ~rick

Nevine Sultan said...

Betty - Thank you for that most flattering comment. Wow! I'm so happy you respond so powerfully to what I write... that's just the highest compliment, Betty. And I so appreciate it.

Marie - Je comprends que c’est plus difficile pour toi de laisser un commentaire en anglais, mais écoute… Pas de problème… Tu peux toujours répondre en français. Je sais pas si tu as noté ou non, mais parfois je préfère de laisser mes commentaires sur tes postes en anglais. C’est plus facile pour moi :-), et ça me permet de m’exprimer comme je voudrais. Mais, en tout cas, vos commentaires sont toujours gentils, et j’apprécie ta présence, Marie… Donc, en français, ou bien comme tu veux... Merci et gros bisous, Marie. :-)

Rick - I'm so happy you enjoy my writing, Rick. It makes me feel like a million bucks. :-)

Sarah Hina said...

I'm struck most by the "mouth of solitude" here, Nevine. Mouths are precious when meeting, but lonely abysses when separating. Contrasted with the "nest," I saw baby birds in my mind, their mouths lifted for sustenance, but with none coming. There's such vulnerability there.

The brilliance of this poem, to me, is how you lifted it up at the end. With that gulping of the white July sky. To lean toward something pure, and light, when we are at our most fragile takes great strength. And, of course, a blue flame looks cool, but its heat is more intense than any orange or red.

A profoundly beautiful incantation to a world, and love, without end. I felt the eternal here.

Anonymous said...

Powerful words impact and fill my mind with powerful and clear imagery.
Excellent work and a truly beautiful piece of writing.

Catherine Vibert said...

I read this poem over and over. Like Sarah, I'm enthralled with the imagery of Mouth of Solitude, and also Blood, Mercury and Iodine. I really had to think about that, the mixing of heat and passion and then the wounding, the wounding that comes after the fire, the fire turned blue, geeze your poetry is so rich, I could read this poem a thousand times and not get enough of it. I love you Vina, you are such an inspirational flame.

Caio Fern said...

thank you for your comment today Nevine .... you really touched me .good to be understood .

and you can still the "piercing :)"

joaquin carvel said...

eyes like chips of glass - blood, mercury & iodine - there are so many incredible turns of phrase in this.

i just read an article about how people tend to be less honest in the dark - here, the darkness seems eclipsed first by the day, then by the light from within - like truth is moving from something you experience to something you are. i don't know if that makes sense, but it moved me deeply.

Nevine Sultan said...

Sarah - I did feel the need to "lift" it... because ultimately, we are lifted out of our deepest darkness and, like you mentioned, this happens when we take the first step... by having the desire to emerge from the darkness. And yes, as always, you caught that small detail... the blue flame. :-) Blue flame is so much more intense because it is undiluted... it burns with the highest energy... though outwardly calm. Okay, Sarah. You always get it. Will I ever write something you won't get? I don't think so. And if I do write such a thing, I'll know I definitely did something wrong. :-)

Suicide Barbie - Thank you for that wonderful comment from a person whose writing is sincere, and obscenely beautiful.

Cat - And you caught the blood and mercury and iodine. I needed a few hospital props to elicit "wound" without quite using that word. Are you and Sarah getting to know me too well, or am I becoming predictable, or what the hell is going on? ;-) Really, though, it makes me just smile when somebody "gets it", and you always do. And hey, I love you too. Mucho mucho!

Caio - I know it's good to be understood, Caio. And I do understand you. How could I not? You're like ink on paper... so brutally honest and sincere. And hey, thanks for the "piercing" green light! :-)

Joaquin - I'm intrigued by the article you read. Where did you read that? I'd love to get my hands on it! And yes, the darkness is entirely eclipsed, because love has that capacity. But Joaquin, you are so good at breaking things down... I mean, I wrote this and I can't even describe it so eloquently. It does make sense... more than you can imagine. And I'm so touched that this moved you - truly!

Craftsman of light said...

Your psyche pushes me into myself.
Nothing touches me more than the potentials aroused by such a powerful incantation....and i m not going to wear any glove to grip it....

Your words shark through like empereurs of freedom. They hit like blades of light on my chest opening me to the precipices before which i bend over to look into....
thankyou for this beautiful post, intense ...just like you are!!;-)
col

Stacey J. Warner said...

Your words are rich...I loved this

And I had no gloves with which
To grip the treadless night.

much love!

GYPSYWOMAN said...

nevine - just fyi, in case you've not made it by "travel journal" there's a little something i thought you might enjoy there! later - j

Unknown said...

Whenever u are writing a book, just tell me. I want to be the first to buy that..:)
Great work once again.
A real master of words for sure.
I love reading u..:)

Cheers

Nuts

Nevine Sultan said...

COL - Going into oneself is one of the best things to do... it really develops self-awareness. And without self-awareness, what are we? But Joseph, you already know this... yes? I know you do, my sweet friend. :-)

Stacey - Thank you and also thanks for letting me know your favorite line.

Jenean - Been there and totally enjoyed!

Nipun - I will tell you, Nipun. I surely will. I wouldn't miss it for the world. I'm thinking about self-publishing this summer. We'll see how it works out. But I'll let you know. Thanks for the sweet comments and the visits. They're so very appreciated!