Pages

Monday, July 16, 2012

In Deference to the Chemicals

In deference to the chemicals,
I’m waiting on the pill
that will take
the years from my face,
the rolls from my waist,
restore steam to the engine,
return steel to my thighs.

We need smart chemicals
to access the ganglia of synapses
when everything about us was new,
and we would explore
our unhidden bodies
with complete
trust and surrender.

I’m just longing for
a gentle, incomplete amnesia
that will erase
all my missteps
and all the lovers
of your youth,
so when you sense my presence
you spring
into breathless impatience,
as it was
when my caress was like
a key unlocking everything
that had been denied
for so long,
unsticking the dam,
overflowing with
slick and sweet abandon.

I recognize this behavior,
chasing those ever-elusive
primal moments of
euphoria and climax
because I am an addict,

but since she is what I need
I’ll feed this addiction,
as long as my chemicals
will allow.

(For #OpenLinkNight at www.dversepoets.com - Happy 1 Year Anniversary!)

42 comments:

  1. Wow! Wow, wow, wow!

    ReplyDelete
  2. LOVE this title...so many great phrases in this poem but this...'I’m just longing for
    a gentle, incomplete amnesia
    that will erase
    all my missteps' really struck me. Oh...if only!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm still trying to make a time machine worthy of a patent. Until then, thanks.

      Delete
  3. Some addictions, well, a person just can't work up a true desire to quit!

    ReplyDelete
  4. one addict to another, we have to choose the addictions we feed and the ones we control...and there are def certain ones that are better a bit out of control...chemicals or otherwise...really nicely spun man....

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, brotherman. This is about chemicals, but it's more about chasing times passed, which is pure folly. I've learned how to live without booze, but I don't know how to live without her.

      Delete
    2. You are going to make me cry.

      Delete
    3. @Laurie, don't cry, I'm sure there are chemicals for that too.

      Delete
  5. Ha! Love it. If only some drug company could get the recipe just right - keep the thrill of youth, temper it with experience; and have it all spill over into new and ecstatic love-making. I'd sure buy some. In the middle of this all, I sense a real tenderness from you - a heart that wants to love well, not just satisfy an addiction. Well put, my friend.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks wise Andrew! Yes, if Pfizer could just get the combination right, they'd be even more wealthy than they are now. Yes, I just want to love well, and I don't mean in terms of sexual technique only. Thanks.

      Delete
  6. Anonymous1:45 PM

    Nice indeed. An addiction to be proud of. And if you do find that pill...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. ... I'll send some your way. Thanks.

      Delete
  7. Great!
    I'm not sure what else to say.
    This is really a wealth of emotion and takes hold of all the senses.
    Wonderful.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, so much, Becky (confession: I don't like this one very much - it starts and then just doesn't resolve. I wish there was a pill for that creative ennui.)

      I'm not sure what else to say either. Meh.

      Delete
  8. Spoken from the heart. Some addictions are not addictions but a way of life. If chemicals make you both happy, I'm glad they are available! Beautifully structured poem--it carried me in the grip of it's progression and language.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Oh yes, that longing, all those if only's... I would only want to go back if I could know what I know now though.

    This has so many layers, yearning, time, love, addiction. All really well done.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks so much. From you, that means a lot.

      Delete
  10. Hee hee; too funny (love the rhyme and rhythm):
    "I’m waiting on the pill
    that will take
    the years from my face,
    the rolls from my waist,
    restore steam to the engine"

    Love this:
    "you spring
    into breathless impatience,
    as it was
    when my caress was like
    a key unlocking everything
    that had been denied
    for so long"

    ReplyDelete
  11. There's a pill for every kind of desired condition these days. Almost. :) Interesting to look at desires and addictions -- how chemicals might tip the balance, decide how long they last and how far they go.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Balance out the cost/benefits of the chemicals. And yet, some of the most powerful chemicals are the ones we're born with.

      Delete
  12. I doubt any pharm could ever capture the flavor that comes with time!
    Wasn't it George Bernard Shaw who said, "youth is wasted on the young"? I think it rather an investment you cannot reap until you have matured : )

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I like that "an investment you cannot reap until your have matured."

      Delete
  13. love how this develops to one big cant-live-without-you scene in the closure..

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Much of my life is one big can't-live-without-you scene. Thanks!

      Delete
  14. Deference to the chemicals is a two-edged sword, to mix my metaphors.The chemicals that keep me alive (but don't change my white hair, wrinkles and creaks one iota) frequently replace one ill with another.

    Your poem is a cracking good read!

    ReplyDelete
  15. Anonymous1:23 AM

    Love this! and when that pill is marketed, let me know!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, and I'm sure if it's ever marketed, we'll all know about it!

      Delete
  16. Anonymous8:56 AM

    Oh just brilliant, love the whole concept of this, so very well done.

    ReplyDelete
  17. Anonymous11:40 AM

    Mosk, holy shit this is beautiful! Brilliant! Like you, I love that collaboration of science and poetry, the science of love. This is magnificent! I love you! :) You know what i mean, hehe
    fYI i nominated you for a Very Inspirational Blogger Award over at http://ptsdcreativewriting.wordpress.com/2012/07/18/very-inspirational-blogger-award/

    ReplyDelete
  18. Thanks so much! That means a lot to me - I try to be inspirational, but not in a shallow, sing-songy way. I'll check that link, Thanks Amy Jo!

    ReplyDelete
  19. Pill nothing - these days they've got an APP for that! ☺

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes, but it's for the iPhone and I have an Android.

      Delete
  20. Anonymous3:31 PM

    Uber groovy- loved the rhythm and taking this crazy ride until it ended- those last two stanzas were nigh perfection. Peace.

    ReplyDelete
  21. it's so hot when you talk neurochemical-speak, you know. (or maybe i'm just that kind of nerd.) either way, enjoyed this. cheers.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Dr. Yep, that's the way this geek-nerd rolls.

      Delete
  22. We live in a world where we want chemical solutions, I think. I just heard on the news last night there is another diet pill out..another miracle chemical on the scene. And I don't think there is a pill to erase the missteps of earlier years...unless it is the 'forgive yourself pill."

    ReplyDelete
  23. addicted to youth!!

    (there's a new prescription diet pill out)

    Lillian Gish

    ReplyDelete