I espied a red glint
In between the cracks
On the wooden panels
Of a locked up closet
How many sphinxes
Stood guard with riddles.
Halting curious eyes?
No sentinel more vigilant
I caught glimpse of a
Red lace stuck
Between mahogany doors,
Some past vanity imagined
Standing there unmoving,
Drawn by intrigue, I was
Like a cat sniffing on
A netted pantry window
I stood beside the
Grim and ominous bureau
A piece of red lace
Clutched by wooden vise
Perplexed and unsettled
Mind wandering
The past insinuates
Rekindling flames
From cold embers
The band played on
Red lace swirling
In the garish glow
Of a festive December night
It was not I who held
Those delicate hands
As you pirouetted and
Caused an eddy in the crowd
Plain red lace seen
Awkward in between doors
What images it evoked
My tired eyes hardly make out
An unwanted remembrance
The memory now a saturated scene
My eyes no longer entertain
Sordid images resurrected
A glimpse of other’s paradise
I lost you once, oh what pain
Losing you again in recall
From a red lace
Stuck between closet doors
I really really like this one. Images darted in and out as your visions and memories played to the music of your mind. Karin Anderson
Brilliant use of red lace to paint bittersweet memories of a lost lover. Kind regards, Sandra
Er, dance not walk, or sing not talk. You get my point, Ed, do you not?
Francis' comments are well-taken here. I noticed, Ed, that you repeated 'red lace' five times in the poem when it's being the title would've been sufficient. Redundancy is one thing versifiers try to avoid to make the poem sing, not walk.
Good. Surprise ending. I suggest: stanza 3, add article: 'I caught a glimpse' stanza 6, unwarranted tense shift; should be: 'The past insinuated' stanza 10: 'another's' (not: 'other's')
This poem has not been translated into any other language yet.
I would like to translate this poem
it's sad and sweet at the same time.10!