Ravensong Poetry And Writing Blog by Donovan Baldwin

Peter de Vries, Mentat Dune

BY DONOVAN BALDWIN

Labels: coffee, Dune, juice of sapho, Mentat, Peter de Vries

BY DONOVAN BALDWIN

Coffee's a big deal to me, as you might have guessed if you read what I write... non-poetry, that is.

I'm not a connoisseur of coffee. (Confession, I had to look up how to spell that.)

I've gratefully quaffed (a favorite word of mine) many a cup of "what the hell is that?"

In fact, in the army, we used to get packets of "sort of" instant coffee (see picture). I would hoard them, and, on freezing cold (or burning hot) mornings, when starting the day exhausted, and no other source of coffee, I would pour the packet into my metal canteen cup, add just enough water to make a sludge, or coffee slurry, then add enough water from my canteen, swirling it to stir it, to have some cold, brown caffeinated water to drink.

Desperate stuff...

As Staff Duty NCO, at 2 AM, I have passed wearily through army mess halls, grabbing a cup of whatever was still kind of warm, willing to drink it "as is", rather than wait for sleepy cooks to brew a new pot. (A drink which tastes suspiciously like what they charge big bucks for at Starbucks.)

On other, more civilized mornings, I've dragged myself out of bed at 3 AM for duties and obligations, done my morning exercises (which I have done somewhat religiously for the last 50 years), and rewarded myself with a better brew... instant, perked, now Keurig, but, whatever was available.

Visiting non coffee drinkers (or like my sister, decaf drinkers), I have run to the nearest store to buy my own bottle of coffee, and sometimes wine (another confession).

Coffee to me IS more than just a hot drink. It's memories of overcoming obstacles. Yes, a magic potion of beans and water, turning nightmares into fairy tales.

Labels: army, coffee, donovan baldwin, essay, humor, writing

Your pastel pages

Fluttering beneath the pen,

Pearlescent ink barely seen,

Underlining and marking,

The curves and folds,

Of the delicious flower,

Precious cup from which

Poet drinks his wine.

-----

tastes words one by one

as they drip my mouth to hers

become poetry

-----

look into your eyes

imagining the thoughts you hide

behind quiet fire

-----

life's greyscale rainbow

yesterday a happy day

today sad shadows

-----

no longer restrained

released from one set of bonds

gives herself to him

-----

never saw your face

yet i know you're beautiful

your words have told me

never touched your skin

yet I've left words written there

by your gentle hand

never heard your voice

yet i know sighs in the dark

have followed my words

-----

your kiss saps my strength

your embrace restores my youth

i need both to live

-----

serving me coffee

wearing my pajama shirt

carefully unbuttoned

-----

why you can't love me

i'm too old and you're so young

i just want you happy

-----

She put on a show about sin

Delightfully uncovered skin,

She showed him the way

Nice girls shouldn't play,

And then she invited him in.

-- Donovan Baldwin

Labels: coffee, donovan baldwin, erotic poetry, poems, poetry

By Donovan Baldwin

coffee and kisses
tangled sheets and tempting smiles...
morning wake up call

-----

passionate embrace
poetry amid kisses...
a tasting of words

-----

Life's about stories,
We are told, but I
Curious poet,
Think more about...
The blank pages
Broken dialogue
Undeveloped plots
Wisps of characters
We create, then...
Leave behind.

-----

i called you pretty
at first you didn't believe...
i taught you the truth

-----

so old school am i
touching the brim of my hat...
we silently pass

-----

such a shining light
your words and thoughts light my world...
illuminating!!!

-----

tell me you love me
burning words upon my soul...
branded for all time

-----

adrift in your tides
afloat on love's endless sea...
unending journey

-----

she is a princess
i knight in shining armor...
loving fantasy

-----

They were the blackberry days,
Barefoot on the hot beach,
Reaching into the wild
Burgeoning bushes for
The fattest blackberries,
Paying with scratches from
The protective thorns,
Fee for the bittersweet feast.

-----

Slamming wooden screen doors,
Buzzing of flies doomed to die inside,
Slowly swirling ceiling fans, BAC,
Before air conditioning,
When we sweated together,
Enduring the heat of summer,
Not missing air conditioned air,
We so seldom knew, but,
In the cool dark of movie theaters.
Where the good guys wore white hats
To be cool, I suppose.

-----

pearls around your neck
warmly attract my vision...
a lovely setting

-----

Poetry by Donovan Baldwin

Labels: coffee, donovan baldwin, kisses, passionate embrace, poems, poetry

BY Donovan Baldwin

Belly dance indeed,
Named for a reason
Central point of observation,
Never still for eyes to settle,
Gaze dancing from bright smile
Offering only more secrets
Just as those hinted at
By changing visions of
Breast and thigh and hips,
Face and body and arms,
In constant erotic motion
To the driving beat of
Music intended to arouse
Dancer and watcher.

-----

my angel lover
halo and robe on the floor
folds me in her wings

-----

this sweet entrapment
unintended seduction
by her honeyed words

-----

my second coffee
offering me promises
i hope it will keep

-----

moonlight lovemaking
isolated incident
or common affair

-----

you may touch my books
caress their pages with me
share their seduction

-----

her ancient lover
in a mist of memory
guides her heart and hand

-----

dearest instrument
touched with loving lips and hands
music bursting forth

-----

dearest instrument
touched with loving lips and hands
music bursting forth

-----

her voice soaring high
vibrato and tremolo
impure crescendo

-----

my chest becomes tight
emotions within me swell
i rise overcome

-----

never without you
each moment of every day
filled with your presence

-----

- Copyright March 2020 by Donovan Baldwin

Labels: angel, belly dance, coffee, donovan baldwin, lovemaking, lover, moonlight, poems, poetry, seduction

By Donovan Baldwin

I hope no one who reads my often early morning ramblings, coded as "BC", expects deep thought.

After all the "BC" could stand for "Before Cogitation" despite actually meaning "Before Coffee".

Honestly, my intention is to, in most early morning cases, examine my thoughts while they are still, like the coffee, "unbrewed", as it were.

Normally, our thoughts get massaged, and messaged, as we move through our days. They get layered over with "facts", real and unreal, information, opinion, and our own thinking process.

It's not that I consider these morning musings to be somehow "more pure" in some way, as I am curious, about what the brain is really chewing on before it gets served its daily dose of caffeine and variouls meals and snacks.

I have to honestly say, that, sometimes, there ain't much meat there.

On the other hand, sometimes I find jewels in the residue of my night's sleep or yesterday's leftover cogitation.

I am one who enjoys the hunt, the creation, the creative process. That's why I have a notebook, and several index cards, which I carry around in my shirt pocket, that are filled with notes and ideas about things I would like to say, on the table beside me.

I think one of the lessons I have learned from writing these morning musings, and others throughout the day, is that THIS is where a lot of my ideas come from.

I stir up the pot of thought-grounds, pour a little typing-water over them and "Voila!", richer, fuller thoughts, and poems, that come later in the day.

Caution, writer brewing thoughts...

Labels: coffee, donovan baldwin, thought, writing

Morning Musings BC (Before Coffee):

I read something written by a friend yesterday that started my brain chugging. It played with the idea through the night, and, without caffeine, here's where I'm at.

I am old.

I don't do much for the Earth, or its people anymore.

However, I breathe.

When I breathe out, I, just like you, produce carbon dioxide. Carbon dioxide is, this layman says, what plants breathe in to stay alive.

So, I help give you grass, trees, flowers, and, especially, my favorite, roses...as well as other plants. These plants make the oxygen WE need to keep breathing. Many of these plants are edible, either by humans, or by other animals...which we eat, or enjoy in some other way.

Trees and bushes provide homes for many animals, and, butterflies and birds.

We NEED oxygen and food to live, but, I also would not like to consider life WITHOUT such things as butterflies, birds, and...of course...roses. Just dreaming out loud, in the morning, before coffee.

You're welcome.

Donovan Baldwin

Labels: animals, breath, breathe, coffee, morning, old, rose, roses