Wednesday, June 28, 2006

Poetry: Quiet Lust

Quiet Lust

A young woman sits on the subway train
Insecure
possessing beauty and precociousness that only God could form
Grown men
stare in blank disbelief at this quiet beauty of womanly proportions
Businessmen and proletariat alike all smile and nod as they imagine her in their beds
She would learn how to use her beauty in coming years
but for now it was a burden
The look of discomfort and shame she displayed
Made me want to protect her, hold her
and keep her for myself

23 comments:

Anonymous said...

Careful Stephen!! is that drool? haa haa
Sounds like carthasis ***wink*** or shall I say victory is yours bro :)

Jenell : BlakIzBeautyful said...

Are you following me Brother Stephen?!!?!

LOL

But seriously, as a young girl coming up I felt this way.

Stephen A. Bess said...

tryphina-
In the end...I definitely did. :)

JB-
Hey there! Where have you been? I thought that you gave up on the blogging thing. :)
You know, I would feel terrible if I made any woman feel uncomfortable based on the way that I'm looking at them.

Michelle said...

I'm with JB -- I felt this way a lot as I transitioned from being a child into a woman -- you men aren't exactly slick when you stare at us! Your thoughts are written all over your faces. I wish I could wrap my arm around her and protect her too...

Stephen A. Bess said...

Michelle- Hee hee! :) **snickering**

Lady Grace said...

Thanks for stopping by. That's funny I have the same birthday as Erykah Badu. I did not graduate from SSU, I worked. Mr. Carter is doing quite well. I will be down there towards the end of July. I'll tell him you asked about him.

Grace

P.S.
How did you find out about my blog spot?

Stephen A. Bess said...

Grace-
I did a search on WHCJ and your blog showed up. I spoke to Mr. Carter on Monday, but tell em' that tracked you down. :) What part of Savannah are you from? I lived there for 5 years. I left a piece of me there when I left.

Anonymous said...

Hi Stephen, another beautiful poem! I too can say I felt like that several times while growing up. SOME men ar creepy. Some are not that way. Some men are gentlemen and do not look at a women like a piece of meat. That is how I imagine you are. And the way you felt to protect her, that was touching! :)

Have a great day, and I hope you all dry out there on the East Coast! I hope you are still water free in the basement!

Stephen A. Bess said...

faith-
Thank you so much. Actually, the end of the poem suggest that I want her all to myself. In other words, I'm not looking at her the same way that the other men are, but my thoughts are similar to their thoughts. **shame** :) Well, it's purely fictional, but you get the point.

This poem is all about choices and perception. The thing that separates us as men is how we conduct ourselves in public and what we will or will not do. Choices.

As for the rain, the soaking rain has stopped and the home is still dry. Thanks for thinking of us.

the prisoner's wife said...

*snaps* nice nice....mind if keep it goin?

the cadence of train and track
was the sound
of love dancing beneath their feet

she stood
a burnt orange tulip
pursed and blooming
in a sea of brown
bodies pressed tight
a rush hour mating dance
they two step to clack clack
of love dancing beneath their feet

Bougie Black Boy said...

Damn, this sounds like the problem I have now... :) how I am cursed with my good looks!

Stephen A. Bess said...

prisoner's wife-
Whew! You put some spices on that poem. I taste fresh ginger and cinnamon sticks! Thanks, that was a great addition.

bougie-
I know, you can't help it. You have to beat em' back with a baseball bat. :) What's up!

Ananda said...

wonderful poem. it says how many of us ladies felt and sometimes still feel when we walk in our worlds preoccupied with our thoughts and suddenly feel the vibe and stares of men soaking up our beauty and imagining whatever they imagine. it was scary for me as a catholic school high schooler in my skirt riding metro home. sometimes i would change trains a lot to avoid the stares. as time moved on, i got better like most women at dismissing the stares and blurring out the comments. all in all, i love how you captured the scene and your sentiment. i also loved the poem that prisoner's wife wrote. that was beautiful sista! keep flowing. peace, ananda

Stephen A. Bess said...

Ananda-
I like that..."soaking up our beauty." :)Yeah, it's not cool to stare, but there are women that command ones attention with just their presence. This is what changed my status.

barbie said...

It is offensive to be viewed as an amalgam of body parts. Men place a high priority on physical beauty and define their attention to women's anatomy as a compliment. Some women do not see it that way. This is as it should be. Physical bveauty is deceptive and cannot nor should it be relied upon as a measure of a woman's worth. Physical beauty (male and female) is a temporary thing.

Anonymous said...

Good afternoon Stephen!

Glad to hear that the rain is letting up! And Wonderful that you guys house is still dry! :)

Here we are having perfect weather! Low to mid 80's and sunny! :) Too nice to be indoors all day :( but our weekend is supposed to be just as nice :) So, have a great day!

nosthegametoo said...

Wonderful poem. You have a very observant eye.

When your book comes out, I'll definately be supportive (by purchasing of course).

Stephen A. Bess said...

game-
Thank you and tell a friend. :)

satin-
Thank you and welcome.

Xave said...

You’ve captured in this poem the protective instincts that I have developed towards all women. The girl on the subway? I know her. She’s my girlfriend, she’s my sister, she’s my best friend, she’s my daughter… she’s the next victim of date-rape.

The boy looks around nervously, his shifting eyes betray his guilt has he tries to get support from his peers. “Come on fellas we all no when they say ‘no’ they really mean ‘yes’. Right? I mean did you see that skirt she was wearing?”

I cry inside as I mourn the death of innocence.

-------------------

Thanks for writing that. Very deep and for me very personal.

Xave said...

Oh and by the way, your site is a gem! You are on my very short link list.

NML/Natalie said...

This was beautiful. btw, I was shocked to discover you weren't on my link list - I had thought you were there for months!

Stephen A. Bess said...

xavier-
Welcome! I really appreciate the honesty in your response. I guess that we have all had that moment. It's a fine line between decency and assault. Thanks for linking me.

nml-
I was all excited when I saw my name on NML's blog! I now have a connection across the pond! :)

Stephen A. Bess said...

said-
Hi

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