The Lip
Surely before I have felt as though heaven
_were pressed to my lips such as this,
Yet touching your smile is so sweet I imagine
_there never has been such a kiss.
Riv’ling the ruby—the cottony soft—
_as warm as a slow summer breeze.
The ultimate passion—Love at its purest—
_thrives upon lips such as these.
Oh how they beckon, though ne’er do they speak;
The coldest are warmed, the strongest made weak!
Slowly they render, till all strength is gone
_each kiss, like of wine, a new sip.
They capture, consume, and completely control—
_What power doth reign from the lip!
Mark Stellinga is a poet and antiques dealer residing in Iowa. He has often won the annual adult-division poetry contests sponsored by the University of Iowa Writer’s Workshop, has had many pieces posted in several magazines and sites over the past 60 years, including Poem-Hunter.com, PoetrySoup.com, and Able Muse.com—where he won the 1st place prize for both ‘best poem’ of the year and ‘best book of verse.’
Mark, I am completely taken with your poem about the power of kisses. They can indeed render the strong, weak!
My wife, who figured this out 55 years ago, Roy, inspired this little sonnet, and I’ve never regretted it :-).
My fave line: ‘The coldest are warmed, the strongest made weak!’
Great stuff, Mark. Thanks for the read.
Thanks, Paul, took me a while to figure it out, but it was an enjoyable lesson to learn.
A most charming poem, Mark, which effectively depicts the joy that we derive from love. The language is quite beautiful.
I also very much enjoyed your poem’s structure. It’s basically a sonnet form but you placed the rhyming couplet between stanzas two and three. It creates an interesting peak to the poem.
I tried a few different ‘structures’ as they, as you know, can help a piece better deliver its message. There are maybe 3 or 4 sonnets in the flash drive book I sent you, while my 1st choice in poetry is the narrative, as you’ve also learned. Evan found a good image for it – glad you liked it. Be well.
I like this romantic side of you, Mark – I agree with Brian, what a charming poem. “The coldest are warmed, the strongest made weak!” captures the essence of of love perfectly, and the form complements the subject matter beautifully. The only thing I would change is the word “doth”… it would remove the archaic feel to give the poem an immediacy that breathes life into the closing words. Thank you!
You should see some of the similarly romantic pieces that were inspired by my wonderful 55 years of life with my Connie. She’s framed several I penned for her birthdays and our anniversaries. I’m definitely 1000% PWd, and thrilled to be so, as she is to me :-). We’re as close as 2 people can be. As for ‘doth’, my intention was to add a sense of perpetuity to the overall concept of being a willing slave to ‘Infatuation’. Thank you for commenting and all the best to you and Mike – M & C
Well, I can’t argue with that, Mark. A poet must be true to himself. It is wonderful to hear your love has thrived, flourished, and survived the test of time. I wish you and Connie many more joyous years together.
And Connie and I wish U 2 the same, my dear, which, based on your many comments and replies over the past couple years, I’m sure is a given. Your “biggest fan” I’m bettin’ big is just as PWd as I am. 🙂