A gloved hand
is gentle, fickle,
like the soft wing
of an enigmatic bird.
One clandestine touch,
a tickle, the apocalypse
of taut leather and cashmere
ignites passion faster
than plywood of a naked
palm. Though embraced
a thousand times, still
it becomes the smooth
kidskin psalm, sung
by a beautiful stranger;
a splendid woolgathering,
that eats away the heart.
Tess Kincaid
December, 2010
Would you like me to read it to you?
Sublime.
ReplyDeleteIt will be difficult to look at my lovely leather gloves without conjuring up the lines from your poem,
Felicity x
such vivd images...beautiful
ReplyDeleteLeather gloves were my best friends in London & Edinburgh earlier this month, they are everything you capture in your poem.
ReplyDeleteHappy post-Christmas days to you, Tess.
plywood of a naked hand
ReplyDeletevery descriptive
wonderful journey of words
yes girl!!! steven
ReplyDeleteI felt the tug and pull of those leather gloves, Tess. Great photo and quote. I have to practice pretending a bit more. Thanks for the inspiration, and I love your poetry writing style.
ReplyDelete"Kidskin psalm"....putting on my gloves will hereafter be a deeply spiritual ritual....your words amaze me, Tess.
ReplyDeleteJust think, years hence, I will be among the followers who will be able to say...I knew her when..{warm winks}.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteSeems I was repeating myself...
ReplyDeletevery sensual, i like!
ReplyDeleteOh, I love this! I wish I had written it! Kudos - again!
ReplyDeleteI agree--but gloves ARE so personal and sensual--they wind up mimicking every curve of the fingers that slither into those little crevices long after the hands slip back out again. Lovely! Like your gloves, too!
ReplyDeletethat last stanza ia truly inspired willow...nice.
ReplyDeleteWillow,
ReplyDeleteAlthough I do love the feel of a leathered gloved hand caressing my palm and it can and does incite some firery images, it's the touch of skin to my own that is the more pleasurable and not at all like plywood; more like a rich warm walnut.
That said; I love your poem!
rel
Willow, I am enchanted! A book needs to be made.
ReplyDeleteLovely lines and reading. Expresses thrill and hints of guilty pleasure.
ReplyDeleteDivine words spoke of an everyday object.
ReplyDeleteThis is fantastic, exactly how it feels, depending on who’s gloved hand it is.
ReplyDeleteOo, very sensuous and mildly erotic - you have captured the fetish for gloves.
ReplyDeleteSuch a Romantic re-emerges in
ReplyDeletethe last waning shafts of the
year ready to catapult itself
into history, and lusty,
and tactual, sensual, and
sadly for we of the blue collar,
who never had the coin to
purchase those form-fitting
driver's gloves one used to
see only on the fists of those
driving BMW, Jaguar, Porsche,
Ferrari, and Range Rovers;
those soft leather ones with
the cut outs over the top
of the hand, and silver buckles,
and sexy perforations on the
sides of the fingers, we never
had the real experience of
relating to luxurious leather;
yet no matter, because thanks
to your poem, we all slip on a
pair, and see them with new
eyes remembering that
/taut leather and/cashmere
ignites passion/. You made
a fancy pair of mittens have
the allure of ladies' lingerie .
This is the poem Emily Dickinson
cold never write.
This is so subtle and sensual, I have a pair of leather gloves with faux mink cuffs and I love how soft, and caressing they are.....
ReplyDeleteHi. I found your blog through a link on moments of perfect clarity... I love this poem, but I love your reading of it more. There are things I didn't notice - the soft cohesiveness of tickle and fickle - on reading it silently.
ReplyDeleteIt's beautiful. Thank you.
Lovely! Gloves are so personal, aren't they?
ReplyDeleteWonderfully sensuous poem, indeed.
ReplyDeleteBut I don't think those gloves would be particularly good for shovelling snow or changing a car tire during a snow storm.
Rob-bear, hmm, I can't tell you the last time I changed a tire in a snow storm. ;^)
ReplyDeleteI love the wordplay...tickle and fickle, and psalm (palm).
ReplyDeleteI'll never look at gloves quite the same ever again. Truly a great poem.
ReplyDeleteLove how many comments touch on the sensual feel of your poem ... it's true, gloves will never seem utilitarian again.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful images, alluring piece, well done.
ReplyDeleteLovely poem. I particularly liked the meshing of visual and aural, the kidskin psalm.
ReplyDeleteI'm sure this is not what you had in mind, but I was reminded of an old 007 flick where Sean Connery strokes a sumptuous young woman all over with a mink mitten. Your poem was a bit more subtle, but equally steamy.
ReplyDeleteA great pair of leather gloves feels just like that!
ReplyDeletehttp://myscatteredstones.blogspot.com/2010/12/mag-46.html
Gorgeous. The alliterations are perfectly warm
ReplyDeleteEverything from "One clandestine touch" to "naked palm" is pure ecstasy.
thank you for writing and sharing it.
Sensual.
ReplyDeleteEvery woman needs to buy a pair after reading those marvelous lines that send shivers down your back and tingling sensations all over.
Hope you had a wonderful Christmas
http://poemsbyninotaziz.blogspot.com/2010/12/merry-christmas-one-and-all.html
Well chosen words. I wonder whether any of your poets this week will personify the hand(s) that slip into the glove(s). Now there's an idea . . .
ReplyDeleteLovely, sensual piece, Willow.
ReplyDeletePlywood palms? Yikes. It may be too late for Aveeno. Yeah, I'd go with the gloves.
ReplyDeleteLeather gloves bring out the sexiness and sensuality of that moment. Thanks Tess and Happy New Year to you!
ReplyDeleteA kaleidoscope of great images,
ReplyDeletean incredibly vivid sensory experience,
both words and picture!
Beautiful series of sensual images! But what becomes the real dramtic power of the poem is your use of the word "woolgathering" - a surprise word. Usually, if you wool gather, then you are clutching at something not really there! But you have given that idea an extra, alternative gloss!
ReplyDeleteBesides causing me to look at leather gloves differently, this thrills me with its lovely language.
ReplyDeleteLove to hear you read your on poetry; a plus for sure. I lost a pair of rabbit hair gloves a couple of years ago. I miss the feel of them. This is another poem for the printer, daaahling! :)
ReplyDeleteLord Thomas of Wellington
correction: in above comment...
ReplyDeletes/b "your own poetry" :)
Very delikate and nice photo - Well done
ReplyDeleteA delicate balance of the purely sensual and the gently erotic. Very nicely done, Tess.
ReplyDeleteWhoops! That comment jumped the gun without a link.
ReplyDeleteLovely.
ReplyDeleteYour voice suits you.
I love the enigma of it..the puzzle that falls into place!!
ReplyDeleteThe imagery in this poem is enthralling.
ReplyDeleteBeautifully done!
ReplyDeleteVery dramatic. And I DO feel different when I put on my soft leather gloves -a bit of mystery envelopes me all of a sudden as I head off for the grocery store... LOL
ReplyDeletesexy and sublime. Lovely poem.
ReplyDeleteI really like this....sooo many confessions hiding within these lines!
ReplyDelete"..still
ReplyDeleteit becomes the smooth
kidskin psalm, sung
by a beautiful stranger.." Fantastic!
I've always felt this way about gloves. Indeed, what lovely words you write.
ReplyDeletei'll never look at my gloves the same way...such a beautiful ode to this mose useful and essential items!!!!!
ReplyDeleteSmooth and sultry One Shot, Tess.
ReplyDeleteAs usual a nice rhythm, and a contrast between the delicate and the darkness that looms.
ReplyDeleteI like "the apocalypse of taut leather and cashmere" and "plywood of a naked palm" a lot.
Happy New Year, Tess.
Amazing description in this Willow...this is lovely! :-)
ReplyDelete"the apocalypse of taut leather"
ReplyDeletecome on!!!
that is wicked good stuff Willow.
can I say that I had the thought of a glove slap come to mind.
there must be a movie you could name with a good glove slap scene.
A new way to look at my gloves, buy yes, soft and sensual they are!
ReplyDeleteNot the stretchy knit gloves certainly...but oh the soft leather gloves...yes a psalm/palm:)
ReplyDeleteThis flows so beautifully!
ReplyDeleteLiza, the first glove slap scene that pops into my head is from Woody Allen's "Love and Death"!
ReplyDeleteJust beautiful, I did swoon at the words "smooth/kidskin psalm"!
ReplyDeleteOh how lovely. Sensual, full of imagery. This truly sings!
ReplyDeleteLike a caress, Tess (and that's like a poem!).
ReplyDeleteAnd I like your new picture. Very dramatic and a bit sultry. It makes me think of old films.
Beautiful - and so true, no amount of costly creams seems to lessen the plywood feel of my aging fingers.
ReplyDeleteI prefer the soft warm touch of flesh given life beyond the frigid feel of plywood. Great One Shot.
ReplyDeleteexquisitely woven words!
ReplyDeleteGlove Slap
ReplyDeleteA glove slap in a little old face will
Get you satisfaction.
Glove slap ba-a-beee ... (Glove slap, baby)
Glove slap, baby, glove slap!
Glove slap, I don't take crap!
Glove slap, shut your big yap.
—The B-52s on The Simpsons
Woody Allen's Love and Death:
Hey, what is this? Slap Boris Day?
Parodied in Robin Hood Men In Tights. The Sheriff of Rottingham does this to Robin to challenge him to a duel, and Robin responds by slapping him back... with a metal gauntlet.
In Indiana Jones: The Last Crusade, Colonel Vogel slaps Henry several times with his glove until Henry grabs his wrist stopping him.
In Beauty And The Beast, Lumiere does this to Cogsworth at the end of the movie.
Buster Keaton does this in Hard Luck — in an attempt to coax his opponent into range of a shotgun with a string tied to the trigger.
In Casanova, Giovanni tries to challenge Casanova this way but for a variety of reasons, Casanova isn't keen on the idea... until his servant forces his hand by slapping Giovanni back.
A variant in Metropolis: when the Thin Man tries to bribe Josaphat into leaving his apartment (and letting the Thin Man meet Frieder in Josaphat's place), Josaphat picks up the bribe money and slaps the Thin Man in the face with it.
I think George C . Scott used a glove to slap the soldier with battle fatigue in PATTON.
So nice. I personally have a few pairs of gloves and love leather gloves. You write so gently about many ways to view a pair of gloves. Just lovely.
ReplyDeleteI have had to re-read your words several times, your words are so cleverly entwined.
ReplyDeleteWow.
ReplyDeleteHow different when read.
How beautiful.
Congratulations on your being published. There is something really grand about being published. No-one can take it away, not ever. There it is, your work, your words, till kingdom come. Well for a long time anyway.
The very best
Loani
Again, you've given life to inanimate objects- brilliant.
ReplyDeleteLeather feels good
ReplyDeleteNo matter where
I wear.
You named your sidebar favorites "Peeps". I like!
Good writing, TK.
"a splendid woolgathering, that eats away the heart." - wow - I am going to have to bring my A game to compete with this!
ReplyDeleteVery well chosen imagery here.
ReplyDeleteAnd thanks for all the work you have put into Magpie Tales throughout 2010.
Happy New Year, Tess.
Hauntingly beautiful and the timbre of your voice accentuates the words perfectly. Bravo!
ReplyDeleteLots of gentle exploration in this poem, but I must offer an addition to Greyscaale Territory's interpretation of 'woolgathering' that better fits my interpretation of the poem. In my youth, when caught letting my imagination wander, I was accused of 'woolgathering', in this case, 'daydreaming'.
ReplyDeleteFord, yes, I used "woolgathering" in the traditional "dreaming" sense of the word, and thought the woolliness fit the subject perfectly!
ReplyDeleteSo many great lines in this one Tess...enjoyed the read and the prompt...nothing like a soft pair of black leather gloves...tight fit...Have a great New Year...looking forward to a new year of writing and reading...bkm
ReplyDeleteLoved this one. My dad used the term 'woolgathering'. It brought back happy memories. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteAh.. my favorite, "the apocalypse
ReplyDeleteof taut leather and cashmere
ignites passion faster
than plywood of a naked
palm."
Tess,
ReplyDeleteGoes to your capacity of 'the trim catalogue' where you contain many neat comparisons in a small space.
Good go!
Trulyfool
I love gloves and always buy at least a pair per year (as I used to buy at least a hat per year - now much less).
ReplyDeleteDear Tess: This is poem is so beautiful; feel wonderfully comfortable and gives me a good feeling knowing love is like these gloves. Particularly inspired by the essence of this excellent and refined poem;
ReplyDelete"Though embraced
a thousand times, still
it becomes the smooth
kidskin psalm, sung
by a beautiful stranger;"
Hot Hot Hot!!!:) Happy New Year 2011!!!
Tess,
ReplyDeleteJust stopping by to thank you for being YOU and for all the inspiration and 'wooly' comfort you provide. Many blessings for the New year!
Gio
Footnote to my earlier comment here! Make that "a few months hence"....
ReplyDeleteJust read your post about the Chapbook competiton...I would say you are a GLOVE in! Good luck!
'Soft wing of an enigmatic bird' has just blown me away. The image is stuck in my head. How do you do it, Willow? you must have eloquence flowing in your veins.
ReplyDeleteSoft black leather, cashmere lined, trimmed in chocolate with tiny buttons, have been my best friends for several years..............love 'holding hands' with them. Beautiful words, spoken so eloquently of course!
ReplyDeleteThanks for all the kind and delicious comments my friends. You feed my muse. You really do.
ReplyDeletefirst time here to find you have lots of followers.
ReplyDeletefirst...congrats on the "Chapbook", (I am dumb about that also)
second...after reading your discription of the gloves I would be a fool not to steal them. I will cherish them and whneever I am feeling low I wiil touch them for comfort.
Thamks for the visit at Taters. Materes...
my gosh, I want to curl up in the lap of that last stanza...beautiful Tess. Happy 2011
ReplyDeletefickle hand
ReplyDeletenot so fickle heart
it's a great prompt Tess
and thanks
Damn, that's fine. And I love gloves.
ReplyDeleteOh so mysteriously romantic
ReplyDeleteThis is sensual and enigmatic. Your words just flow so smoothly. Beautiful!
ReplyDeletewise words...
ReplyDeletehappy 2011.
thanks for the continued inspirations.
Tastefully erotic/romantic/vivid work - exemplary piece.
ReplyDeletethat was great. you certainly have a way with words.
ReplyDeleteThis makes me just want to kiss my leather gloves in thanks. I have one pair that I've used for driving for about 20 years. If I ever lost them I would feel lost behind the wheel.
ReplyDeleteThis was one of my favorite images you have prompted us with...very special.
Glenn Buttkus said...
ReplyDeleteIn Indiana Jones: The Last Crusade, Colonel Vogel slaps Henry several times with his glove until Henry grabs his wrist stopping him.
That was an extremely sexy scene.
The facts that Standartenführer/Oberst/Colonel Vogel marches around while carrying a riding crop/swagger stick in his leather-gloved hands at all times and only ever removes one of his black gloves to effeminately slap his victims with it until he reaches climax make him very sexy. He also dry humped Indiana Jones on the tank. There are only a few ways in which he could have been a sexier, more evil Nazi-villain:
His entire SS-uniform should have been made of leather (similar to Hauptscharführer Ilsa Haupstein's uniform from the opening of "Hellboy", except that her peaked cap was not made of leather).
He should have slapped his riding crop/swagger stick against his leather breeches/jodhpurs in rage whenever he uttered one of his effeminate screams when humiliated by the Joneses or when ordering his men around(similar to Frau Farbissina in the final act of "Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me").
The film should have included scenes in which (a) superior officer(s) inspects the Standartenführer/Oberst/Colonel and his unit, whom he would have greeted by clicking his heels, executing a Nazi salute and screaming "Achtung! Heil Hitler!" (similar to Obersturmbannführer Ilsa and her female Oberscharführer and Scharführer in "Ilsa, She-Wolf of the SS").
Finally, he should have worn leather SS-riding boots with spurs instead of Mister Minit replicas.
He should also have worn a leather mask, like Hauptmann von Stalhein, the German villain in Biggles - Adventures in Time
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0317956/board/thread/112990464
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0090729/board/nest/112990713