After all these years
she still wears
that Bardot scarf
and flats are de rigeur
for evening saunters
by city rivers.
With a falter of shallow
breath, she stumbles
on uneven pavement
of the embankment
between streetlights,
a sunset blush on her cheeks.
He carefully grips her arm,
feels her fluttering heart,
no longer hawk and prey apart
but a pair of ruffled pigeons
preserving their decorum
and talking about art.
After years of waiting,
they learned to flex their wings
of paper and ink,
fly flags and kites of feelings
with no regrets,
no puffballs of hate.
Arm in arm,
content together,
two grey pigeons
stroll in autumn’s afterglow,
finishing each other’s
sentences as they go.
Kim M. Russell, 2018
My response to Imaginary Garden with Real Toads Weekend Challenge: Play Tennis with a Ghost
This weekend, Brendan would like us to play tennis with a ghost by taking a poem by another poet we respond to deeply and write a response. He says that we may be stirred by the theme or it might be the rhyme scheme or alliteration – whatever it is about the poem, we should write a poem as a letter to the original and make the myth our own.
I am very fond of Seamus Heaney’s poems; the one I chose is ‘Twice Shy’, which you can read and listen to on YouTube by following this link:
writing in north norfolk 
This is absolutely gorgeous, Kim!💞 I must admit that I love this poem way better than the original and was left breathless by; “He carefully grips her arm, feels her fluttering heart, no longer hawk and prey apart but a pair of ruffled pigeons preserving their decorum and talking about art.”💞
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Oh, thank you, Sanaa! I’ve always loved Heaney’s shy romance and his relationship with nature.
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Time is a great healer and association a great relaxant when two people feel comfirtable in each others company even though the years have passed since their first encounters. Beautifully written.
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Thank you, Robin.
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Pigeons huh. Coooooooo 😉 ps…the link to Heany does not work for me.
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I’ll have a look at it!
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I think I’ve fixed it – it works for me!
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It does for me too now.
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That’s good.
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In fact, after listening to that awful voice reading the poem, I’ve changed it to a YouTube reading.
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Magnificent Kim. The image of old pigeons walking along the embankment discussing art and finishing each other’s sentences…. is sublime. Dare I say that you did better than Heany? 👏👏👏👏👏
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Thank you, Viv, I’m blushing like stripe tomato! 🍅
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You deserve the praise….brilliant work😊
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My Kindle is changing words again – that should have said ‘like a ripe tomato’! It just tried to change tomato to Tokyo, too!
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I love the poise of this striding right next to Heaney’s poem from the other end of a life. All of it is more true once these birds have truly flown.
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Thank you, Brendan, and thanks for the prompt.
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I love it too. The pigeons are such a wonderful image for the settled, familiar love you describe.
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Thank you, Rosemary.
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But the hawk and prey part was so much fun…. guess the pigeon life must suffice in the end.
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😊
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So sweet! Sounds like a wonderful relationship … a love that feels comfortable and will last! 😊
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Thank you. 😊
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Just beautiful — no longer hawk and prey but a pair of ruffled pigeons…you have a wonderful way of describing the changes over the years. A bit of melancholy. A bit of nostalgia. All around – just good!
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Thank you so much, Mary!
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Really love the image of being those two ruffled pigeons… true love is the life and not the hunt.
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I think when you’re young, the hunt is exciting, but as you get older living is more important.
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I loved your write. So much more than first meets the eye. Images came clearly to my mind.
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Thank you so much, Annell. Your words mean a lot.
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I love this! All the birds! I bet they also create art and finish each other’s sentences. And this couple? Love them and their victory of equality! (Great choice of poem.)
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Enjoyed this poem a lot. One of your best. So many lovely images. When I was at school I wanted to be Brigitte Bardot. So I know about the fashion.Loved the reference.
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Thank you, Rall!
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Poets, or pigeons, I watched the whole scene play out in my imaginary flats.
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😊
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🙂
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🙂
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What a beautiful poem of love.
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Thank you, Rob!
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I can see them, and i love your likening them to two pigeons…….
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🙂
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I mean they sound very sweet. I can see them, tottering along together. Smiles.
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Amazing! I love that you picked pigeons! I see them on my bike rides they are as varied as their colors. This poem was warm and inviting.
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I know that some people denounce them as vermin, but I like pigeons and I’m glad you like them too! I watch them when I wait at railway stations and love their walk, their curious eyes and throaty conversations.
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Yes! Take care.
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Fantabulous-ly Sweet! 😎🥀🥀🥀🥀🥀
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Thank you, Dorna!
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Oh this is so beautiful…My husband and I are becoming those gray pigeons. I am so grateful he walks with me.
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Thank you, Susie!
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Beautiful! Wonderfully constructed … lovely images tenderly sketched … perfect. Conjured forth, for me, the opening lines of the Robert Browning poem: ‘“Grow old along with me! The best is yet to be’.
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Thank you, Wendy!
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There is such an alluring pace in the development of the story. I particularly luv this line
“fly flags and kites of feelings”
much💝love
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And much love to you, Gillena xx
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What a perfect coupling – i loved the imagery and gentle tone
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Thank you, Jae.
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My husband and I just celebrated our 49th wedding anniversary. We are those pigeons. Loved this poem.
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Congratulations Myrna and thank you for reading and commenting. We have a significant wedding anniversary next week and we’ll be celebrating with the pigeons in St Mark’s Square in Venice!
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Reblogged this on SEO.
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Thank you for the reblog!
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It is my pleasure.
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