From Lost Love & Other Lyrics
A casida
Sleep, the enemy of inspiration,
An unlikely ally that hangs around,
With dawn’s rebirth, cause for celebration.
Dreams, their rites of passage are at my feet,
There refuge lies in the revelation of sound,
An archipelago, where lovers meet.
A young heroine, hopelessly engaged,
Upbraids the sun, its bright carousel
Bewitches a heart in which love is caged.
Her tethered breasts tingle with sheer desire
Candour deserts caution for amour’s spell,
Passion’s a vassal, with her flesh on fire.
The tenderness of time is flung aside,
And bountiful the sighs of young love’s oath,
Avidly she waits, open arms held wide.
Voluptuous lips, lurid with kisses,
Promise fidelity, enough for both;
He, Cupid’s kiss cruelly dismisses.
© Sam Gilliland
Residing in Scotland, Sam Gilliland is a champion of Lallans (the Scottish language) poetry and a recipient of Sangschaw’s prestigious MacDiarmid Tassie. With three previous collections of poetry published his work in Scots includes A Rickle O Banes (Penny Wheep Press). Founder/Secretary of Ayrshire Writers & Artists Society the organisation became the home of The Scottish International Open Poetry Competition, to which he devoted twenty eight years of his life as co-administrator and judge.
So well crafted; so sensual and sensuous indeed; more first rate poetry from Sam Gilliland – always a treat to read.
Beautifully suggestive and aesthetic, and wonderfully paced.
I thank you, James, and wish you well with your own inspiring work. Aye & aye, Sam.
Yes, David; it is heartening to hear from someone who knows exactly what the casida conveys. It is a form, along with the gacela, that I am fond of using; albeit in good taste. Aye & aye, Sam.