JESSE KEEGAN

THE INNISFREE POETRY JOURNAL

Jesse Keegan

WATER STRIDER MAN

Words gush on your tongue.
You budge the valve and a few drops drip.
Liquid stars flicker on her lips.
You’d take a few quick hot sips.

You’d take care not to swallow too fast.
Don’t stare at that,
such tight skin in black jeans.
Have round sighs for her brown eyes.
Keep those in a safe beneath the bed.

So, you dream about the dance,
when you both were strung by beats,
sliding your hands along her waist,
over curvy zebra stripes.

You were free to hold her,
and you could move as if to kiss.
Inside, there’s always been the sound of cuffs against the wrist.
On the outside, they’ll come to turn the music down.

Every rock, twist and bounce,
you guide to the furthest decimal out.
You hover on her surface,
with a water strider’s purpose.

You can see it in her face,
the wishing well;
you see the smiling wild place, in flashing lights.

Then the flashlight knocks the pane.
Blue clothes and silver shields slice the night in half.
You are divided.

You didn’t penetrate but tickled across.
Your ripples made waves.
She says she wants to dance with you again.

Jesse Keegan

"Water Strider Man," is from Jesse Keegan's developing collection titled, Flame Unfolding. He lives in Bergen County, N.J.

Home
Current Issue
Submissions
Contributors' Notes

Karren Alenier

Jon Ballard

Virginia Bell

Bruce Bennett

Sarah Bonifacio

Sarah Browning

Jared Carter

John Thomas Clark

Jennifer Pruden Colligan

Claire Crabtree

Yoko Danno

Anthony DiMatteo

Robert Farnsworth

Carol Frith

Martin Galvin

Jen Garfield

Do Gentry

John Grey

JoAnne Growney

Amanda Halkiotis

Kirsten Hampton

Sherry Horowitz

Reamy Jansen

Brian P. Katz

Jesse Keegan

Mary Ann Larkin

Nancy Tupper Ling

Gregory Luce

Pete Mackey

Larry Moffi

Judy Neri

Shep Ranbom

Cynthia Nitz Ris

Lori Romero

Janice D. Soderling

Sandra Staas

Paul Kareem Tayyar

Naomi Thiers

Davide Trame

Jean Tupper

R.J. Van Zandt

Sharlie West

Barbara M. White

Terence Winch

Kathi Wolfe

Ernie Wormwood

Katherine E. Young

More

Email this poem

Printer friendly page

Last Updated: Sep 16th, 2007 - 08:34:32