I dreamed of my plan to see Jeanne.*
We are below the cerulean sky,
high above the indigo beaches of the Cote D'azur.
She was in the passenger seat.
Besotted like wine in our love.
The delightfulness of Candide still floating in the air.
An unexpected knock on the door.
Charcoal memories had decided to visit me again.
Depressed and lonely, they rubbed against me like mating guinea birds. I struggled to understand.
I cursed in the lazuline daylight.
I moaned in the sable-covered moonlight.
exasperation escaping through my throat.
A feeling of dread crawled over my body.
Becket peacefully slept while I waited for Godot.
Gasping anticipation of a non-existent character in a play.
Perhaps the past will repeat itself.
I breathed in and out of this thought.
I had wrestled obsidian nights before.
Tenderly held my own bloodied defeat.
The deafening silence of an unfulfilled life.
Victory is unattainable in the one-sided skirmish.
The war drum is suddenly silent.
Murkiness moved on and knocked on a new door.
The strains of Lili Marlene in the distance.
I dreamed of my plan to see Jeanne.
We are below the cerulean sky,
high above the indigo beaches of the Cote D'azur.
She was in the passenger seat.
Besotted like wine in our love.
The playfulness of Candide still floating in the air
We turn left onto rue de Temple.
--
Dr. Michael Anthony Ingram, host and producer of the globally acclaimed poetry podcast Quintessential Poetry: Online Radio, YouTube, and Zoom. He is a retired university professor who champions the arts, especially poetry, to highlight issues at the intersection of power, privilege, and oppression. A nominee for the Pushcart Prize, he is also celebrated internationally as a spoken word artist. His eagerly anticipated second book of poetry, Metaphorically Screaming, will soon be released. For further details about the podcast, please visit www.qporytz.com.