It lands with a sickly
crack
in the pan,
not the thud it should make
if it were flesh-soft
and not
crystalline
and waiting
for a kiss of heat
from the burner.
Now, there’s a metaphor.
Something like
“sola dosis facit venenum.”
A little Latin cooed,
tattooed
in a groove on my shoulder
like the remembered press
of your lips,
your thumbprints to my wrist,
and a constant stir-
ring
turning
the sting
to honey again.
A little something for Shay’s Word Garden and
The dose makes the poison; and is there honey without stings? Much to ponder here. Beautifully crafted.
ReplyDeleteFirst of all, the title is perfect, love the way you used the kennings to strengthened the extended metaphor with both sweetness and the poison of the sting.
ReplyDeleteVery beautifully done. I love the remembered press of lips, the stirring turning the sting to honey.........
ReplyDeleteA wonderful piece, well written and complex. Erotic to the last drip...
ReplyDeleteHoney famously does not spoil but it will turn hard, as in the first section of your poem. The piece as a whole reminds me of Carly Simon's song "Coming Around Again", a favorite of mine. To be in a relationship of any length, one must have a hiveheart -- wait out the stings and wait for the honey again. As always, you use simple language (Latin not withstanding) to express complicated emotions. Really fine work, Jennifer.
ReplyDeleteYour little something is absolutely magnificent Jennifer! You have such a talent for saying so much with brevity! Not all poets can do that!
ReplyDelete"turning the sting to honey again'
ReplyDeleteI love that image.
Such a nice write Jennifer — thank you for sharing… 🙂
ReplyDeleteI love the extended metaphor and the kennings scattered throughout it, Jennifer, as well as the shape, the line lengths, and the use of sound: ‘crack’, ‘thud’, ‘kiss of heat’, and the rhyme ‘cooed, tattooed’. The ending is like the drip of honey.
ReplyDeleteI wonder if all relationships need that STING once in a while to bring them back to the HONEY! I enjoyed this, Jennifer.
ReplyDeleteThis poem casts a spell all its own, Jennifer, like an incantation of love.
ReplyDeleteI wish I had written such an amazing "little something".
ReplyDeleteLove the kenning hiveheart. It invites all sorts of meanings. As does the whole poem. It invites feelings of good and not so good, harm and relief, but maybe not the sort of relief that is really wanted.
ReplyDeleteI love the Latin tattooed in the groove of a shoulder. A very good "little something". I often find the shorter the sweeter.
ReplyDeleteWhatever you're cooking, I'll have some.
ReplyDeleteLove this part:
a constant stir-
ring
turning
the sting
to honey again.
"...and waiting
ReplyDeletefor a kiss of heat
from the burner."
"...the remembered press
of your lips"
I love these lines especially, and just the whole gentle witchy way you turn darkness into light with this poem 🙂
ah, i miss those thumbprints ~
ReplyDelete