written and posted by members of Lancashire Dead Good Poets' Society

Saturday 22 June 2019

Love Among The Scatter Cushions

When I first set eyes on this week's allotted theme, my spirits flagged.  Cushion!  It put me in mind of that popular radio panel game where contestants have to try and talk for Just A Minute without deviation, hesitation or repetition about some unseen and completely random topic. At least I hope I'm not operating under quite such stringent constraints here. Cushion, though..! Cue a string of appropriate three-letter acronyms: omg, wtf, yak, etc - that last one is not an acronym, btw.

Ok, metaphorical fingers on metaphysical buzzers, gentle readers. Are you sitting comfortably? Then I'll begin (to steal the opening line from the kids' story time programme Listen With Mother)...

Apart from the fact that  I need to buy some cushions for my new couch and chairs, I honestly cannot think of anything else of interest to say about the cushion (buzz - no, I'm allowed to repeat the subject word), so I'm heading 'off-sofa' - so to speak (buzz, buzz) - and into the realms of poetry (buzz, buzz, buzz) with this preamble:

A number of distinguished works from various areas of the arts have named themselves Love Among The ___ down the years. As far as I'm aware, Robert Browning started the tradition in 1855 with his poem Love Among The Ruins. P.G. Wodehouse followed on with a comic novel, Love Among The Chickens, in 1906 and then D.H. Lawrence wrote a stirring short story entitled Love Among The Haystacks in 1912. Film director Frank Tuttle shot the comedy classic Love Among The Millionaires in 1930 but thereafter came a bit of a hiatus (it appears) until US rock band Starship recorded an LP, Love Among The Cannibals, in 1989 and Jean Ferris penned her satirical novel-for-teenagers Love Among The Walnuts a decade after that. National treasure Alan Bennett almost gave us Love Among The Lentils in his Talking Heads monologue series but opted for Bed Among The Lentils instead, possibly recognising and avoiding a plagiarism too far.

I have no such reservations. I'm shamelessly resolving my blogging conundrum with Love Among The Scatter Cushions, using this painting by Irving Ramsey Wiles as a visual stepping stone to today's newly-written poem.


Love Among The Scatter Cushions
Aftermath, late afternoon shading into insubstantial,
sound-tracked by nothing but the constant drone
of arterial cars rushing to their heartlands
and the leisurely buzzing of incarcerated flies,
a huge quiet after frantic pleasure, almost a peace.

You lie still in tiny death, prostrate, suffused, dishevelled
among the scatter cushions of your chaise
and I wait, now unperturbed, for your Lazarine return.
It wasn't always so. That first time, unforewarned,
induced a panic of concern that I can smile at now.

You said it used to frighten you too. Black hole of ecstasy,
you joked; a strange phrase, but who was I to say,
who'd never experienced the mystery? And here you come,
fading gently back into time, fingers still entwined in mine,
looking like you don't know where you are or where you've been,

a languid mess of hair, disported clothes, bare limbs,
resurfacing to consciousness even as the echoes of our passion
hang like cobwebs in the corners of your living room.
Soon it will  be time to dress, slip back into the flow
or we'll be late for the show, but not yet awhile, not yet...

Finally, because I went to see the wondrous Coral gigging at Blackpool's Winter Gardens Empress Ballroom last week, here's a musical bonus, the closing track from their finest recorded moment. Just click on the hyperlinked title to access it on YouTube: Late Afternoon

As ever, thanks for reading. Have a sunny week, S ;-)

68 comments:

Rochelle said...

Good heavens, that's a bit of a racy read for a Sunday morning!

Anonymous said...

Funny blog, fabulous poetry.

LG said...

Funny and audacious. It's a rather lovely poem.

Boz said...

Love the Coral 👍

av said...

Very good Steve.

GV (Vance) said...

Wow! I really like the poem.

Robbie said...

The languor of late afternoon comes through loud and clear Steve. It's very good.

Anonymous said...

Brilliant Steve; subtle, evocative and gently humorous all at once. I love it.

Deke Hughes said...

La petite mort is beyond my scope of experience but you render it (and its impact on you) with commendable sensitivity. It's a fine poem Steve.

Tom Shaw said...

One to add to your Love Among... list: Brighton UK based band Love Among The Mannequins. Check out their album 'My Uncle's Ball of Lightning Will Put an End to Your Warped Psychology'.

Nigella D said...

What a beautiful poem.

Matt West said...

Is that passing out stuff for real? Scary.

K. Worth said...

Another fine blog Steve, witty and engaging. I love the poem.

Anonymous said...

the blog is funny but the poem is stunning - so good

Jools said...

I was amused by the blog and seduced by the poem.

Anonymous said...

Very good Steve.

Rod Downey said...

Yes, not an inspiring topic but you made something quite special out of it - that's another wonderful poem.

Harry Lennon said...

That's a great new poem Steve.

CI66Y said...

I agree with others above - brilliant writing, an excellent poem. I particularly like 'your Lazarine return' and 'even as the echoes of our passion/hang like cobwebs in the corners of your living room'.

Anonymous said...

That is a lovely poem.

Anonymous said...

Genius poetry my friend.

Anonymous said...

A fabulous poem - and thanks for the introduction to the Coral as well.

F O'Jay said...

Your blog was a pleasure to read but that poem is amazing, the mood and the experience so beautifully captured. I love it, well done.

Anonymous said...

A beautiful poem, lyrical and langorous.

Anonymous said...

This is very good 👍

Mitch Carragher said...

Agree with comments above. That is some poem, beautifully written.

Anonymous said...

What a wonderful poem.

Anonymous said...

I love this!

Jambo said...

Not just an orgasm then - an M&S orgasm! :D

Jade Keillor said...

That's good Steve, beautifully put together and very moving.

Celia M said...

I think this is my new favourite poem of yours.

Anonymous said...

What a nicely turned blog, amusingly written - and then that poem is something else, beautifully done.

Anonymous said...

Exquisite poetry (and no exaggeration). 👍

Binty said...

Funny blog, beautiful poem - love it all.

Anonymous said...

Beautiful poetry.

Trace said...

How good is that? Loved the poem.

Charlotte Mullins said...

Witty and wonderful :)

Anonymous said...

A most amusing blog and a seductively beautiful poem - most impressive.

Bruce Paley said...

Brilliant!

Anonymous said...

Your poem took my breath away.

Jon Cromwell said...

Oh wow. What a delightful blog and a sumptuous poem. Thanks for the intro to the Coral as well.

Mary Jane Evans said...

Stunning poetry ❤️

Sahra Carezel said...

I loved your Greek Idyll poem and this is equally beautiful. x

Beth Randle said...

This is SO good.

Anonymous said...

What an exquisite poem. Fabulous 👍👍👍

Anonymous said...

Funny, clever and seductive - quite a talent.

Geert Mijnals said...

A wonderful poem.

Ross Madden said...

Masterful - no pun intended :)

Saskia Parker said...

Poetry rarely makes me gasp. Yours did, beautifully written.

Anonymous said...

Top blogging: funny, smart and affecting - the poem is a treat.

Anonymous said...

Genius mate.

Nicola Edwards said...

Seriously funny & beautifully written.

Anonymous said...

class 👍

Howie Schroeder said...

That's a great blog and a fabulous poem.

Anonymous said...

Brilliant blogging and a fabulous poem. 👏

Caroline Asher said...

That's very clever and rather lovely.

Ailsa Cox said...

What a great post, funny, informative and ultimately beautifully sensual.

James Wilsher said...

Hugely entertaining Love Among... piece and an excellent poem.

Derek Sellen said...

An excellent sensual poem - I came across the blog page by accident but will return to see more

Gerard Curfmann said...

Clever blog, very witty. I really love that poem. Listened to the Coral track as well, sounded great - something to check out later. Thanks.

Mo Bettaney said...

This was funny and informative and your poem about la petite mort is beautifully done. I have just one issue with it: the line "arterial cars rushing to their heartlands". Arteries flow away from the heart, not towards it.

Gilly Dawson said...

Amusingly written blog and an arresting poem.

Phil Butler said...

Excellent blog and poem. 👏

Caitlin Shaw said...

A clever and funny blog and swoonsome poetry. ❤️

Hazel Williams said...

Very good. An entertaining mix of amusing and amorous wordsmithery.

Elaine Stevens said...

Fabulous!

Brendan Scully said...

I take it you're describing 'la petite mort', though I've no experience of it myself. It's a beautiful evocation if so, high-point of a fascinating and funny blog.

Dilys Warwick said...

Nick Spalding has a comic novel "Love Among The Stars" in his series of books about Jamie and Laura Newman. Very funny, of you don't know them. I enjoyed your beautifully crafted blog and poem. 👍