Falling Through the Fire

Falling by Julee Cruise

Falling Through The Fire

Come with me, he shouted

And took me by the hand

And off we went exploring

A woman and a man.

I didn't have a road map

I didn't know the way

I only knew I'd follow 

Where he led me that day.

And so we ran through rainstorm

And so we swam through flood

Riding on the west wind's wings

With a wildness in our blood.

My long hair blew back in his face

And he twisted it 'round his hands

Pulling me into his arms

By those raven colored strands.

His mouth caught mine in hunger

Devoured my crimson lips

And I laughed at him and tried to run

With his hands around my hips.

Not now, not here, I said to him

And caught him by surprise

Watching dark clouds forming fast

And filling up his eyes.

You must do as I tell you 

I said and felt his ire

If you want this woman's love

You must fall through the fire.

What do you mean? he queried me

What is this trick you play?

No trick, Sweet Boy, I answered back

But you must do as I say.

I lay him down in green grass

And covered up his eyes

And all he heard was the waterfall

And birds up in the skies.

Where are you? he called to me

And I felt his anxiousness

He knew not yet what I might do

And he could only guess.

Be patient, love I chided him

I will not do you harm

See how your body shakes with cold

Now I will make it warm.

And I took his clothes away from him

And clothed him with my hair

Falling down upon his form

Like Adonis lying there.

I traced his body with my fingers

And memorized each line

Lightly as a butterfly

Upon his skin so fine.

What are you doing? What do you want?

He breathed as though afraid

Lying in that emerald field

And underneath the shade.

The tree leaves slowly began to fall

And made a kind of bed

Covering up his trembling flesh

And falling on his head.

I watched him move this way and that

His voice in anger calling

You must remove this blindfold now

I must know what is falling!

It's only me, love, do not fear

I whispered as he ranted

Hear my heart beat now so fast

It's only me, I panted.

And I made my way from heel to head

Kissing every inch

My torrid tongue a flame of fire

That made my lover flinch.

What are you doing? he moaned at me

In a tortured ragged breath

I'm taking you into the fire,

I'm loving you too death.

At that, he howled and reached for me

But my flesh he could not touch

Wilder now, his body begged

It wanted mine so much.

But little did my lover know

For we were not long acquainted

That I was was not an average girl

And not what I'd been painted.

He couldn't know. I hid it so

I kept my secrets well

And even I had never known

For the others wouldn't tell.

From whence I'd come or when I'd come

If I were pure or leaven

I didn't know where I'd been born

In Hell or up in Heaven.

I only knew what I only knew

And the power that I had

The ways and means to make men scream

In joy and then go mad.

So long I'd sought my perfect match

A man that I could love

Who didn't care where I'd come from

Down there or up above.

A man that loved me for myself

And didn't run away

And so I planned to test that man

And see if he would stay.

I dropped rose petals on his flesh

I pierced him with the thorn

I licked the blood up with my tongue

Where his body had been torn.

I heard an owl up in the tree

Chuckle like a man

I saw a form like a black cat

Run across the land.

The wind blew softly on my skin

For I was unclad and bare

And twilight pushed the sun away

As I was standing there.

Where are you? my lover asked

As he sought to untie his wrists

I've had enough! And he tried to rise

But he could not refuse my kiss.

I fell on him like a hungry beast 

Devouring him like a meal

Tasting his sweetness and swallowing his wine

And making him to feel.

Like no man had ever felt

Drowning in desire

Giving himself to pain and pleasure

And dancing in the fire.

And when I thought he could take no more

He set himself then free

Tearing the blindfold from his eyes,

He threw himself on me.

And loved me till the midnight came

And the moon rose in the sky

Tearing my flesh with his teeth

Till I thought that I would die.

Loving me and hurting me

And healing with his touch

I'd never felt such ecstasy

And I loved it oh, so much.

For hours he loved me, like a man

But no man I'd ever met

Giving me exquisite joy

And a night I'll not forget. 

His eyes, they looked right in my soul

His soul, I saw so clear

And terror hung above our heads

And yet I felt no fear.

I wanted to die there in his arms

Beneath his thrusting  form

I melded with the earth below

As night turned into dawn.

Each bite and bruise I cherished

Each pain and pleasure, grasped

And held to it with loving hands

And my love for him I gasped.

I love you! I love you! I love you! I cried

As we reached the mountaintop

And tidal waves carried us away

And we could not make it stop.

Nor did we want to until we lay

In pools of feverish sweat

Covering in the morning dew

And love's rain so sweet and wet.

Now, do not ask me to explain

For I cannot and will not try

But when we'd loved with all our souls

We rose up in the sky.

And flew on wings we did not have

Up to the trees so tall

And then we dove down to the ground

And bathed in the waterfall.

Laughing like two children, laughing

And kissing between each laugh

We felt like people who'd been made whole

After living torn in half.

We stood up on the hill at last

Feeling fresh and new

Young and ancient as the stars

Now knowing what was was true.

He searched my eyes for signs of fear

But only saw desire

And I knew he was the cleansing water

And he knew I was the fire.

We two, had fallen to the depths

And rose again as well

Two beings who found their home in heaven

Even though they'd come from hell.

©by Voo

December 1, 2019

4 p.m

Nightingale
by Julee Cruise

Habbibi (My Love)

Tuesday, January 22, 2019

Habbibi

(My Love)

Eyes as black as night

And skin like caramelized sugar

In a thawb as white as clouds

In an azure sky

You appeared like a vision

To my hungry eyes.

I watched you walk

Through the gardens

And the vines seemed 

To reach for you 

With tiny green fingers

That I wished were mine.

Everywhere there was

The scent of flowers

And spices, rare and fragrant

Floated in the air

Above your head

And trailed behind you

In the dust.

You moved like a lion

Regal and  confident

Like a Prince

Yet somehow, approachable

Even as I shrank back

Into the roses

And the shadow's embrace.

You carried something 

In your hand

Wrapped in silk

And tied with ribbon

And all my friends who watched you

Wished it was for them.

Pretending to be busy

With chore or garden,

They looked away

And bent round

With their baskets

And giggled in their hands.

"Habbibiti!" I heard you call out

And my heart melted in my breast

"Come forth, Little Flower

I have a gift I have brought you!"

And all the girls looked at me

With daggers in their eyes 

And wished they could be me.

Pulling you back into the arbor,

You laughed and dropped your gift

And took me in your arms

"Why are you hiding, my heart?

Why are you always playing games?"

And my dark eyes looked up into yours

And my soul joined with yours

As it did every time we met

And longed to be permanently

And eternally joined.

"Have you been weeping, Jameela?"

Looking closely at my face

"Who has made my Yar Amar cry?"

You asked, alarmed and I tried to hide my tears

"It's nothing, Habbibi." I say

"Nothing, my Ishq, all is well."

But all was not well but how could 

I tell you, my Ha Rouhi

That my father had taken all hope away

With his sudden announcement

At the noon meal.

"I have found you a husband, Noor."

He said matter-of-factly 

As I passed him the bread

With my eyes cast low

My mother clapped her hands

And smiled like the moon

When it is full.

"Sa ha!" she exclaimed happily

Flitting around the room like a butterfly

Intisar with joy at the thought

Of her only daughter being wed

And never knowing that I was already wed

In my heart.

"Habbibi! My Habbibi!" I cried

And threw myself into your arms

"I can't believe what my father has done to me!"

"What? What?" you asked loudly

And shook me by the arms

"What has your father done to you, Roohi?"

"Qalbi! Qalbi!, I will die, I will die!"

I wept, panic taking hold of me

"I will not marry anyone else! Never, never, never!"

And I collapsed on the green grass

At your feet.

You stood there in stunned silence

For many long eternities

As I died and was reborn over and over again

Only to die again of a broken heart.

You picked the silk wrapped package

Off the ground and held it in your hands

Trying to make sense of what I was telling you

Wondering what you would say to me

When I stopped crying.

And then a smile broke out on your handsome face

Like the sun breaking through the clouds

And you grabbed me up in your arms

And danced me 'round and 'round.

"Have you gone mad?" I shouted at you

And all the girls in the gardens looked up sharply

And all around to see what the conflict was

Hoping that it was you setting me free

So that they might take my place.

"Jameela, roohi, love of my life!" you said

And tore open the package,

 Took out a bracelet of rubies,

And slipped it on my wrist

 As I looked at you like a mad man.

"It is I."

"It is I that your father wishes you to marry!

My father has been meeting with him all week

And I was just told of their decision this morning!"

Hardly believing my ears, I stood there 

Covering my huge smile with my hands

Then I stretched out my arm 

To admire the bracelet.

And then I grabbed your hand

And we went running through the gardens

Like children, laughing like children

While all my jealous friends watched

And swore, un-lady-like underneath their breath.

©by Voo

Jan 22. 2019

2:56 a.m.

For H.M..
my love

War Of Dreams

 War of Dreams

On this battlefield is fought a war

Not unlike the war that men

Fight to the death with dying breath

Till freedom reigns again.

This war is to the death, likewise

Though living may go on

When hope has faded from desperate eyes

And home is no longer home.

This war, unlike the killing fields

Kills only in the heart

Tears up the mind with dangerous thought

And shreds the soul apart.

This war is fought with anguished hands

That do not dare let go

Of dreams born in the days of youth

Surviving friend and foe.

This war of dreams continues on

Till the fight is done and through

'Oft leaving our dreams undone but written

For others to read and do.

©by Voo

Feb 5, 2005

6:32 p.m.

Van Gogh And I (An oldie From Voo's Vault)

Starry Starry Night 

Van Gogh and I 

Van Gogh was a poet

Who painted picture words

A tortured soul with shattered heart

At least that's what I've heard.

I sit for hours and contemplate

The purpose of his plight

Then throw up my hands and lose myself

In his starry "Starry Night."

He had a knack for choosing

Pale ordinary scenes

And touching them with magic

And changing what they mean.

He turned ugliness into beauty

And beauty into scorn

He threw away the scented rose

And gave pity to the thorn.

He never knew the taste of love

And yet it brought him low

Love played the game of hide and seek

But it's face it would not show.

Love made him paint the portraits

Love made him wield the brush

He gave his life and soul for love

And love left his heart crushed.

His tired old men look sadly out

Of their prisons (picture frames)

They cry out for their privacy

For their hundred years of shame.

In every field and peasant

I see Van Gogh's expression

His hope and hopelessness comes through

For he never learned his lesson.

Through Van Gogh's eyes I see the world

(Or the world as it should be)

Van Gogh and I are quite alike:

We can't face reality.

Sometimes I almost fancy

When before his work I stand

That he is in there looking out

Reaching forth his hand.

Drawing me into his world

Far from this earth of blight

To sit with him and gaze into

That eternal starry night.

And if I could, I'd take his hand

And make him want to live

The world has taken all from him

Now it's our turn to give.

Vin-cent, if you can hear me

I hope my words ring true

I long to brush away your pain

And paint a smile on you.

©by Voo

                                                                                              long ago and far away

 

Tribute to van Gogh .......His paintings......

 

                                    Video made by Bear

FIVE O'CLOCK QUEEN

Five O'Clock Queen

Every day at five on the dot, she comes
All the heads raise, swivel around, and then look away
(I don't know why she comes here anymore.)

They tell me she was beautiful in her time
Nice long legs and red-gold hair and eyes to catch your breath
But time's become her enemy, if it ever was her friend.

I don't think there's anything sadder
Than the face she smiles at me
As I pour her beer and take her coins and watch her look around.

She stumbles to the booth that knows her contours well
Fluffs back her hair and licks her lips
And pretends she's unaware.

Maybe there's a new guy in, that doesn't know the score
And I see him raise her hopes up
And then dash them to the ground.

The regulars jab him in the ribs and laugh behind their hands
"No, son," they say, "You want none of that!"
And she pretends she doesn't hear.

When the beer is warm and the night is cold
I watch her reflection in the window pane 
On the odd night, in that light, I can see her as she was.

Sometimes, I ignore her and sometimes I just can't
I wipe the bar and wipe my hands
And put quarters in the jukebox.

"This one's for you." I'll say
And she'll light up like a child on Christmas morning
And nod her graying head like a reigning queen.

But when she's gone, I'll play a Dave Loggins song
And a hush falls as the room is filled with shame
And pain and longing for the days that are no more.

Days when youth was beautiful even on an ugly face
And those eyes could make you stumble after
And promise her tomorrow when you knew it wouldn't come.

©by Voo Shining Stone
May 12, 09
1:18 a.m

This is the heartbreaking song that inspired this poem. 
I felt that this woman had another
part of her story that needed to be told...................