Can’t Wait
Tongue bit, clamped
Could taste it bleed
Mixed with saliva
Stifling cries of, “Please
Baby, don’t leave!”
Enter time’s return rush
Knowing regressions
From cross words
Puzzlement, smell salts
Warped log cabin of make believe
Where cathedral ceilings brace—
Maple syrup drawn from intimacy
Guess I never expressed—
What she had once meant to me
Sh…
Hermit crab lurches
Like an old man with crooked legs
Hubble, hobble, watch ’em wobble
Through scopes of spray mist…
Over canvas beach
Pebbles smooth, tide swell
Scuttle into eternity
Sounds from perplexed hearts
Crests sharp—over barbs and bark
Trapper claw snaps down
Spits out entrails
As the earth spins side projections
Giving to new life…
Finding spirit on skewed point
Dissecting mind
Without reach
Emptiness cradles stars
In the wake of shedding duck trails
Shimmering waters, ululations glisten
Dovetails, and billowed sails
Shy eyes hid behind hair sway
Sky climb to a golden age
Those autumn harvest days
When life sighs, breath held
Chest tight, on deck over water main
We rage against dying light
Run out of what we mean
Pour one for me
Red wax drips lethargic
Myopic, uptight
Revealing myself
Wounds close as I write
“Can’t wait until love
Will finally feel right.”
__________________________________________________________
Care for a reading of Can’t Wait?
One Shot Wednesday (Week 51)
@ One Stop Poetry
It’s my turn to host!
Dustus Blog 
June 21, 2011 at 12:41 pm
Wow! Awesome!
June 21, 2011 at 12:53 pm
This was one I didn’t want to end, so I was glad it was longer. This is my speed, Love poems like this, from the heart, intense with passion.
We rage against dying light
Run out of what we mean
Pour one for me
Red wax drips lethargic
Myopic, uptight
Revealing myself
Wounds close as I write
“Can’t wait until love
Will finally feel right.”
Good grief, I love that part. Well done 🙂
June 21, 2011 at 1:11 pm
A lot of this one flew right over the top of my head and warrants a few more listens! So many references to so many aspects of life and daily routine for you. Multi layered and complex Adam, very well written
June 21, 2011 at 2:45 pm
Appreciate your comments Shan, Lori, and Mystic. Enjoy OSW!
June 21, 2011 at 2:53 pm
Wow! I read it and then listened to you speaking it, really enjoyed hearing the sounds come alive, the music working against and with the imagery, the sentiments…I hope love will finally feel right….
June 21, 2011 at 3:32 pm
This is one fine poem. Wow!
June 21, 2011 at 3:54 pm
Adam, this is intense and wonderful. I could taste the tongue bleed..and at last wishing love could feel right-awesome poem.
June 21, 2011 at 4:00 pm
Does it ever? Really? What does feeling right feel like? What a roller coaster! The imagery painted is amazing, but the complexities of the personal out weighs the shining waters of an autumn afternoon. An intense trip through genius word weaving. This will warrant another read, a few more listens….and much sympathy and empathy for the questioning heart.
June 21, 2011 at 4:05 pm
Intense. I’m going to have to come back and read it again. Maybe more than once. Great poem.
June 21, 2011 at 4:10 pm
Thanks for posting!
June 21, 2011 at 4:11 pm
oh man, i could listen to this over and over and over… passionate words from you Adam
June 21, 2011 at 4:19 pm
this was a terrific read adam…really appreciate that you’re doing this for us and i love the intensity and tight atmosphere in the poem…esp. loved the rage against the dying light
June 21, 2011 at 4:24 pm
fantastic Adam “Sounds from perplexed hearts
Crests sharp—over barbs and bark…” jumped out as a favorite line for me.
June 21, 2011 at 4:26 pm
Gosh
too many images here to be commented on
`’ll keep *Pebbles smooth, tide swell
Scuttle into eternity..,*
since i am having a heat wave here in this part of our world
You are great ,Dustus… and I love listening to your words… which do not hesitate a second… just because they are deeply felt.
Excellent work
Dulce-( amateur poet)
😉
June 21, 2011 at 4:28 pm
What http is that (sorry)
June 21, 2011 at 4:31 pm
This was aa excellent read Adam…hearing your words adds a fine dimension to the poem.
June 21, 2011 at 4:40 pm
adam that is a feast…the second stanza is where you grabbed me….great word play that doesnt let go…cross word puzzlement…the hermit crab….love will feel right one day….smiles.
June 21, 2011 at 4:52 pm
Woah .. just catching my breath .. as it was held throughout and my chest has just expelled .. phwaor Adam .. had me gripped ..speeding up .. through such a myriad of images .. expanding out ..to myoscopically small .. there was an excitement too .. can’t explain .. but I felt it ..rollercoaster ride ? had electricity flowing .. like through veins coursing .. always without question know I am going to read something that will take me completely out of myself .. How I so wish for that ending to come true for you Adam .. Breathtakingly wonderful .. Lib ~ @Libithina
can’t believe nearly twelve months ~ and what great friends made too xx
June 21, 2011 at 4:56 pm
Such a rush of emotion and intensity! Beautiful expressions throughout. It drew me in completely.
June 21, 2011 at 5:05 pm
a ton of emotion released in this great write Dustus, agreed when does love feel right my belief it feels right when one stops wondering if it ever will…then all seems to fall into place and emotions finally calmed in a sense of knowing peace….always a pleasure….bkm
June 21, 2011 at 5:15 pm
Such imagery, beautifully written. This reminded me of my dating days and wondering the same thing…but then, one day, I met my husband and finally, love did feel right!
June 21, 2011 at 5:36 pm
Drawn in from the onset and it never loosened its grip. The flow and use of words was like a maze that I was running through at high speed. I really enjoyed this piece! ~ Rose
June 21, 2011 at 6:17 pm
As I read, I thought, “My God! Love has eluded for a very long time.” Intense. Emotional. Evocative.
June 21, 2011 at 6:26 pm
“Sh…
Hermit crab lurches
Like an old man with crooked legs
Hubble, hobble, watch ‘em wobble
Through scopes of spray mist…
Over canvas beach
Pebbles smooth, tide swell
Scuttle into eternity”
Each stanza really did have it’s own identity. I enjoyed the one above. It was very visual . I chuckled at the hubble, hobble, watch ’em wobble.
June 21, 2011 at 6:33 pm
Stanza 3 is incredibly unique.. creative lines/words..great movement there..
the entire poem moved me and i know these emotions…well..
very good poem indeed Dustas..
June 21, 2011 at 6:37 pm
I read this aloud myself, and I must say the stacotto rhythm fits the mood of this very original poem. Nice work!
June 21, 2011 at 7:16 pm
Wow such vivid imagery right at the beginning, sucking the reader in and getting that much more vivid with every word. Everything just came together at the end, after a strong build up, nice one!
June 21, 2011 at 7:25 pm
dustus every word of this is honed like a knife. It took me awhile to get familiar with the way you dance your words, and the more I read, the better the dance gets. The stanza about the crab–man–I really am speechless at the way you put so much into each snapshot here. And of course, the bittersweet ending. Fine writing, adam. My pleasure to read it.
June 21, 2011 at 8:26 pm
Wow! Love the intensity of this one! The maple syrup of intimacy, the hermit crab imagery, barbs and bark, so many great internal rhymes and wonderful images!
June 21, 2011 at 8:35 pm
I love your opening and ending lines…. plus the intensity of your words in the midst.
Nice to meet you ~
June 21, 2011 at 8:46 pm
Wow. I liked “finding spirit on skewed point”
June 21, 2011 at 9:01 pm
Isn’t this what everyone wants?! Awesome images of breakdown in a relationship. My favourite? Hubble, hobble, watch ’em wobble. Great analogies wound into an extremely creative write Dustus!
June 21, 2011 at 9:05 pm
Thanks for the pictures…. and perhaps inspiration. Do you ever do that? Read a poem with one side of your brain and your other side starts writing another.
June 21, 2011 at 9:26 pm
I think I might do that a lot, Randy. Did so more when reading actual books I’d write in them and deface pages to the point where borrowers get distracted by my nonsense. Just about every book I own has my half-brain scribbles in them! lol
I get what you’re saying. Yeah, I think I do that for poems I enjoy. Thanks, My Friend.
June 21, 2011 at 9:35 pm
This is really superb. Great wordplay throughout.
“Run out of what we mean
Pour one for me”
I love those two lines together. Everything seems to gather there, then rush out again.
June 21, 2011 at 10:37 pm
“Wounds close as I write
“Can’t wait until love
Will finally feel right.”” Love it and love your writing!!
June 21, 2011 at 10:52 pm
Excellent write. Your word play is, as always, a joy to read…esp. dig the second stanza. The water, sea side, certainly is where you hit your stride. Props to you, to go from dark to light, ‘can’t wait’, indeed ~
June 21, 2011 at 10:57 pm
I always read you, though I don’t always know what to say. This would be one of those.
June 22, 2011 at 12:01 pm
Feel free to speak your mind whenever 🙂
June 21, 2011 at 11:32 pm
Great piece… love the transitions. Nicely done.
June 22, 2011 at 12:36 am
I’m not sure if love ever feels exactly right….. Not that we shouldn’t hope for that, but I think love is never simple and with it always comes heartache and great responsibilty. Enjoyed your reading of this and glimpse into your thoughts…..
June 22, 2011 at 1:33 am
As always fascinated by the style and form of your poetry and its cascade of words and images sustained by an emotional spine. I see this as a strong performance piece and so loved hearing it
June 22, 2011 at 4:40 am
So many great lines here, Adam. Whenever I read your work, I picture a classroom full of poetry students having a rich discussion over every stanza.
June 22, 2011 at 8:22 am
somehow this was sad, but not. i was left feeling hopeful for love to finally “feel right.” i particularly loved this line …
“Those autumn harvest days
When life sighs, breath held”
June 22, 2011 at 9:56 am
So much emotions and such vivid imagery. Awesome write Adam!
June 22, 2011 at 12:29 pm
Awesome!! I guess love is one of those things that no matter how one expresses it, it always feels like there was another – a better – way! And I think you have described that sense of complete incompleteness really wonderfully here Adam… Bravo!!!
I thoroughly enjoyed this poem!
June 22, 2011 at 1:05 pm
Powerful, intense and brilliant. Your voice and intonation are both original and inspired. Great write Adam. Kind regards, James.
June 22, 2011 at 3:02 pm
Lovely prose. Deep and flowing with emotion.
Love will feel right when you love that someone more than you love yourself. Enough to be willing to die for them if you had to, then, love will feel right.
Thanks for visiting me and the lovely comment.
June 22, 2011 at 3:25 pm
Thought-provoking and so rich in unique images. Love the hermit crab/old man picture you imprint on my brain. Such good writing.
June 22, 2011 at 3:28 pm
will be a long time waiting my friend unless you test the waters beforehand
June 22, 2011 at 4:26 pm
a ton of great imagery here, but i have to say i think those last few lines are my favorites, the perfect closure to this piece.
June 22, 2011 at 6:59 pm
Wow…
Sounds from perplexed hearts
Crests sharp—over barbs and bark
Trapper claw snaps down
… what words you have given to arguing. I can fight with an intensity that is in direct correlation to my degree of love for someone. After 29 years, sometimes love does feel like pain, and it might be necessary.
You had me at the beach with these beautiful metaphors for the not so beautiful difficulties in life. I could relate.
…We rage against dying light
Run out of what we mean…
Amazing descriptions Adam.
June 22, 2011 at 7:03 pm
Thanks hugely for this panorama of feelings encrusted in realities that abound! How you pick and meld held-in thought and feeling and unleash them as verses that flow in a rhythmic yet unexpected way is sheer artistry! I love all the lines here but because of who I am I quote:
“…Emptiness cradles stars
In the wake of shedding duck trails
Shimmering waters, ululations glisten
Dovetails, and billowed sails
Shy eyes hid behind hair sway
Sky climb to a golden age
Those autumn harvest days…”
Thanks again!
June 22, 2011 at 7:35 pm
Good one, Adam. Loved the last few lines.
June 22, 2011 at 9:32 pm
The second stanza shows real brilliance… Excellent reading I really enjoyed listening to this poem.
June 22, 2011 at 9:39 pm
Wounds close as I write
“Can’t wait until love
Will finally feel right.”
Wonderful imagery and heartfelt!
June 22, 2011 at 10:19 pm
Excellent write. Line after line. Vision after vision. Emotion, recognition. Know that feeling, just never expressed it as well. Top notch!!!!
http://henryclemmonspoet.blogspot.com/2011/06/self-portrait.html
June 23, 2011 at 12:25 am
“Wounds close as I write”… wow, really enjoyed this piece, reading and listening, love that last stanza; superb poetry.
June 23, 2011 at 8:13 am
Such intriguing words! I love the way you wrote this.
June 23, 2011 at 8:41 am
“Enter time’s return rush
Knowing regressions
From cross words”…so sad…love doesn’t have to be this way…
June 23, 2011 at 10:17 am
Really nice work here. Love the internal rhyme, language used and the rapid pace to this piece. The quotes, really did a great job framing the piece. Thanks for sharing:)
June 23, 2011 at 10:22 am
‘scuttle into eternity’ fascinating line, poem generally written really well, flows in a beautiful way but holding depths greater than the skin. :] xx
June 23, 2011 at 11:07 am
So much depth. I say WOW!
June 23, 2011 at 1:05 pm
WoW! This is deep.
Hearing the recording of it makes it even more captivating.
For me…the problem isn’t love…that never changes…it’s we humans with our fickle hearts and emotions.
Nice one, Adam!
Thanks also for visiting my blog
June 23, 2011 at 6:49 pm
Dustus,
Most fascinating take. There is always a Yin and Yang in love. How wonderful you’ve made it out to be. Hearing it is the icing on the cake.
June 23, 2011 at 8:27 pm
Thanks for hosting this week Adam!
As always the visuals in your poem are vibrant. I get that you are looking, fighting and trying to find a love that feels right, but in your reading, I think you spoke too fast. Personal preference, but I feel like if you had slowed down a little, you could have been more emphatic with the nuances of your words. You are a master of creating an ultra visual piece though. Nice OSW
June 23, 2011 at 9:36 pm
Thanks, Katherine. I appreciate honest feedback and think there is something to what you say. Appreciate the compliment too.
June 24, 2011 at 8:15 am
Hubble, hobble, watch ‘em wobble
A very powerful word play! That emptiness and yearn is expressed well within.. Love is one subject that is just sooo debatable. views, opinions all float balancing themselves on thin lines. But the romance expressed wasn’t so thin here!
Hugs xo
June 24, 2011 at 8:25 am
Beautifully written- I love the vivid imagery throughout, especially the first stanza. Nice one! 🙂
June 24, 2011 at 12:36 pm
A beautiful, wistful piece. I especially love the imagery of the sea and strand you have woven through the lines. Superb work as always.
June 24, 2011 at 10:45 pm
Loved the image of the crab scuttling across the canvas beach. Enjoyed your audio very much!