Thursday, February 14, 2013

Poetry Postcard 30: A Love Story


Happy Valentine's Day, postcard fans! Heart Day at the Shovan house is a low-key affair. It falls between several more important January/February holidays, namely: every single birthday in the household, including the dog's (2/17).

I hope Cupid aims well and is kind to you today. Love comes in many forms, including this one:

Cartoon Boy Meets Cartoon Girl

You have no lips to kiss or speak.
I have no ears to listen.
Let me lean on this picket fence,
watch you hover
over a loop of jump rope,
your braids drawn up
by bat-winged ribbons.
You cannot see my baseball cap
or read my cautious expression.
Your lashes fell a moment before
the cartoonist imagined us.
But I will wait. The next panel,
with your fluttering lids, must come.
The artist -- would he leave us
forever like this?

Laura Shovan


Postcard Information:

PUB FOR ASHEVILLE POST CARD CO., ASHEVILLE, N. C.
A “COLOURPICTURE” PUBLICATION

7 comments:

  1. What a fun poem - I especially LOVE "your lashes fell..." and the hopeful (doubtful) question at the end. Very clever! :)

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  2. I love the batwing bows bit

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  3. Enjoyed this, Laura! Perfect for Valentine's Day. The lines "You have no lips to kiss or speak / I have no ears to listen" are more profound than one might at first think.

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  4. Exactly so, Matt. Thanks for pointing that out.

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  5. This is a favorite, Laura. What you see in these two--frozen drawing, wanting so much to be released for the next step--priceless. I like the rhythm too! Happy Valentine's Day!

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  6. Hi, Linda. I read the daily comics religiously. Part of the poem came from observing the strange features of the cartoons (not unusual -- Hello Kitty has no mouth, Little Orphan Annie has no pupils). But the turn in the poem happened for me when I thought, what if this were one part in a three-panel comic strip?

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  7. I heart this poem! Going to save it in my e-journal :-)

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