Tuesday, July 17, 2012

Palm Reading (Poem)

Palm Reading
    for Michelle Rummel

She counts her blessings
      within the lines of her palm.

Length, she'd heard once, has
      nothing to do with living close

to the edge. Her heart's line
      ends in a thick knot of branches,

and her head line, extending far
      beyond the middle of her painter's

palm, pays a ransom to ambition.
      She quarrels with all the tiny nicks

the reader finds, some indivisible
      number she discovered could be

used to retrace the ground already
      covered in that wide smooth stretch

between thumb and index finger.
      Her life line starts high enough

but just before the gentle curve
      above the wrist she spies the chains

invisible to others whose own
      break at the forks on their hands

or double up like devoted soul
      mates. Deep in the center of her

self unseen lies fate's sinuous slant,
      and there, on the side underneath

the pinky, two long love marks.
      Intuition's prominence tells her

nothing more about the three
      bracelets her reader sees, or

the many places she'll travel,
      where a crescent moon lingers —

her lover's shield, her Girdle of Venus.

© 2012 Maureen E. Doallas
________________________________

This poem varies somewhat from a draft I left in the comments section of a recent post at TweetSpeakPoetry. I used as my prompt the phrase "within the lines of her", part of the poem that accompanied the lovely watercolor She Breathes Cerulean by Michelle ("Shell") Rummel of Shell Artistree.

16 comments:

Shell said...

Just wonderful! Thank you so much, Maureen ~ Thrilled and honored that my watercolor/line of poetry inspired your brilliant words to flow. It has been a personal joy observing how you and the other writers interpreted my words/painting. I have greatly enjoyed watching the process unfold. Lovely, to have been invited to share my art within your circles. Thank you, for your kindness ~
Shell

Louise Gallagher said...

I love how you took one line and turned it into a palm reading -- with such beauty and depth to it.

Your poems always make my heart feel light and airy and full of song.

Unknown said...

This is beautiful. Incredible.

robkistner said...

this is gentle, lush, and captivating Maureen -- excellent...

Jenne' R. Andrews said...

A gorgeous, gorgeous poem, Maureen-- be sure it's in your next collection-- so many lines and images speak to me, as in this one:

Deep in the center of her

self unseen lies fate's sinuous slant,

...xxxj

Brian Miller said...

wow this is beautiful maureen love the glimpse of the chains as well that she sees herself...i had my palm read once...

Lorna Cahall said...

Lovely flow, Maureen. I had to stay with it and I loved the journey.

mrs mediocrity said...

this is lovely... quite the journey we hold in the palms of our hands...

ayala said...

Lovely journey, beautiful poem!

Anonymous said...

Wow. That's gorgeous!! You should submit that if you haven't already

S. Etole said...

Adding my "yes" to the comments already here. You do this so well.

Chris Lawrence said...

the heart and fate and how it leads

K McGee said...

A portrait with words.

Beachanny said...

These lines of life, head, and heart cut deep into your reader. The diction here perfectly suits the poem and takes us on a journey from our life into hers. Exquisite.

Unknown said...

This is spot-on, and so filled w/ nuance... lines that speak in a hearts code. Just like Shell's beautiful work. There is almost a call and response quality. What a pleasure to see, and share the fruits of such a fecund encounter!

Rob Mustard said...

Very well done, with images enough to keep me coming back.. Terrific idea executed with intensity & credibility, not to mention being beautiful, easy on the eyes and all too familiar to the heart.