PENIS ENVY doodles

© 2023 Marjorie J. Levine

A LETTER FROM 1928

This letter was written by my grandmother to my mother:
"What do you want I should get you..."
"What is the matter papa did not call up..."
"... tell him he should eat red meat, go outdoors for his health, go for a ride every night that he will sleep well."


NAP TIME

At dusk, a dream through stained glass:
In a hazy deciduous forest, I am almost naked-
Pristine gown clinging like translucent second skin,
Chartreuse satin slippers, cheeks pale porcelain rose,
And humidity turning my hair burnt sienna.
The scent of dried lavender drifts through trees-
“Alone in nature, by nature,” ventriloquists murmur.
Bejeweled spiders, resting on carefully crocheted cobwebs,
Melancholy widows, eyes green tourmaline,
A soldier seduced by indifference...
Haunted beauty washed forever in soft pink light.

A fading fragrant French cologne-
Earlier a sweet intoxicating elixir- melting and melted.
An elusive black-throated warbler,
Pausing on a great oak, bears witness:
An icon is shedding mellifluous silver tears,
Reflecting my grandfather, wrapped in his tallit
Stirring, turning, saying, “You look very familiar to me.”

A clammy breeze passes through Manhattan.
I awaken this time, awakened last time,
Acquiescent and still, not knowing
If it is evening... or morning.

® WGAE 1994, renewed 2004 by Marjorie Levine

© 2020 Marjorie J. Levine

the marjorie-cartoons lulz

 

BECOMING UNTIL poems

art © 2024 Marjorie J. Levine

                                            photo courtesy of Frederick Piccarello

© Marjorie J. Levine 2024

HAIKUS

A SIDE GLANCE

Yesterday is still

Inside me like a new view

I hold on tightly.

EVERYTHNG ENDS

After the good deeds

The blue sky blended with clouds

Ennui filled the cup.

FADING SLOWLY

Afternoon is gone

The tree bends to the pale light

Footprints fade to dark.

GOING AWAY

Sundown by the bay

The letter now floats away

She walks to the night.

IN THE NIGHT SKY

ABOVE THE CITY AVENUE

The moon high above

One star below on the left

Both move and shine bright.

MANHATTAN

Driving south one day

Miles spill over shoulders

I was almost home.

MEDITATION MYSTERY

Alone in body

Who am I to determine

The sweet soul of self.

NORTH

Red house in grey sky

Who sleeps next to those branches

In the dim soft light.

ONE DIRECTION

Signs point to one way

And it was the only place

To find memories.

SERIOUSLY

In all seasons here

Time bends to the azure sea

But leaves me paler.

SHARP TONES

As the grey comes in

Shades turn to crisp clarity

And shine old to new.

THE BEND IN THE VIEW

She who once lived there

So long ago would shed tears

To see this new view.

THE BLACK VELVET DRESS

The black velvet dress

So long ago I lost it

Never since replaced.

THERE’S SOMETHING ABOUT THE NIGHT

The darkness at night

The grey soul spirit above

The past in green light.

THIS VIEW FOR WHOSE EYES

This unbroken view

Caught my eye in October

One light day at dusk.

THROUGH A PARTICULAR

KALEIDOSCOPE LENS

Time passed in this house

Where I had magical dreams

And now I am old.

TOGETHER

The beach at sunrise

The sand under soft blue mist

Two hands bind morning.

TOPEKA CAN BE

WHATEVER YOU WANT IT TO BE

Topeka in sun

Will soon change to Topeka

In white crystal snow.

VIEWS IN AFTERTHOUGHTS

This was the first spot

Where I saw the pale stranger

Then he went away.

WAXING CRESCENT

Illuminated

In a shiny blue night sky

Twigs tremble and freeze.

WHAT’S LEFT

Light blue to dark blue

The curtain fell on water

Rocks remained so strong.

WINDOWS

Through a lens long gone

There was magic in the view

Past is so quisquous.

WISCONSIN DELLS

The huge movie screen

Sits behind the red flowers

In Wisconsin Dells.

A DEATH IN THE VALLEY

One life dead ended

The day he left the blue stream

And rode to the hills.

FORTUITOUS HIGHWAY

His right was her left

So they met in the middle

Love bended two hearts.

SOMBER

She moves as one young

And one day she will be old

A different face.

THE OLD STREET

Going back that day

Was a huge mistake to make

The street had cobwebs.

THE VIOLET TULIP

Is the color right

Is the flower really pink

Eyes closed last summer.

TONE DEAF

The widow sat still

Hearing wind on Saturday

A new man brought songs.

TRACES OF SAND ON A CITY STREET

After a hot day

The green beach towel was lost

On concrete tan stones.

LIGHTHOUSES

Mist sets on azure

One light beckons through the fog

And brings lost ones home.

LIGHTHOUSES II

Whether under grey

Or under blue, the soft hues

Bring travelers home.