Black Poetry : WHEN THE SWEETNESS SOURS

garlicsalt99

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REGISTERED MEMBER
Mar 21, 2001
355
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Los Angeles
WHEN THE SWEETNESS SOURS

To have loved and have lossed love ... it's a crazy thing
Riding the emotional roller coaster , going back and forth on an emotional swing
Experiencing both ends of a spectrum, in which two passionately participate
And from experience I know this to be true ... it's a thin line between love and hate
The love is wonderful ... so long as it's there
Two people so in tune with each other ... hyper-aware
Somehow connected on some mental and spiritual plane
That defies explanation, and to rational people, it baffled the brain
But when the love is gone ... nothing works out
Feelings become sore and take the hurt route
Things are said for the mal-intention of being heard
And it becomes so bad ... silence is often preferred
Love is sweet ... there's no denying that
It's better than the edible connections, that of over-indulged, gets one fat
But, just like sugar, if mis-handled or left out too long
It begins to sour, and its intended use becomes all wrong

The honeymoon stage ... it's safe to say that it's understood -
That when everything is going good ... it's good
The moon is bright shining and the honey is sweet
And just when we thought we couldn't top another plateau, we've reached another peak
It appears that everything we do is a gateway to bliss
A touch is a hand-hold is an embrace is a kiss
Is the one thing that leads to another, so forth and so on
A feeling so euphoric, high and fresh we both want it to go on
We look into each others eyes and say the "I love you's"
"You're second to none" and the "There's no one above you's"
Using all of the terms of endearment that no one would contest
And because this is so fresh and so new, everything is taken, on jest
Like having all of the correct answers to an exam, in plain sight
Any and everything that comes out of our mouths is right
There are no wrongs to be said, or for that matter can be said
Everything mentioned goes together like a needle and thread

What we had in common far outweighed our differences
In speaking, sometimes we could complete each others sentences
Operating on likeness with common references and inferences
Taking note of saying the same thing at the same time, in any of given instances
Cultural backgrounds are similar ... we both find that intriguing
We have similar rearing experiences ... and similar upbringings
Similar artistic passions to varying degrees
And whatever differences we have, we attempt to address by aiming to please
In contrasting to compare, I desire you to come to me
You reciprocate that desire ... and we crave each others company
We yearn for each others presence like two objects held by a teather
And when we're separate ... we long to be together
We move to close the distance like two magnets with opposite poles
Attracted to each other like lint is to the static cling of clothes
And in the throws of infatuation the salutations are always sweet
For when we come together -- even if just to hold hands -- our togetherness is complete

We look into each other's eyes, Vibing off of visual inclination
Feeling the highs of infatuatory sensations
We gaze into each other like astronomers gazing onto the celestial expanse
Looking lovingly into ever-adjusting pupils not leaving stolen moments to chance
I caress you with a squinting and kiss you with a blink
You embrace me with a glance and tickle me with a wink
We have full-on conversations with just the simple act of staring
Without a word being spoken in an intimate space that we're sharing
With the glaze of fresh love leaving a shine in our eyes
Feeling as affirmed and elevated as eagles that soar in the skies
We intimate our feelings with a deep rooted honest-ness
We clasp each others hands and make each other promises
I promise to give you my heart, and my shoulder and ear to lend
You promise to give me your devotion with a love that'll never end
I promise to make you feel every bit a woman as you make me feel every bit a man
Near or far, we promise to love each other through time and shifting sand

Whether two people of nobility ... or just two peasants
We were beside ourselves just to be in each others presence
Pleasant and agreeable was our embracing ... one to the other
There were no suffocating dispositions ... no liberating tempers to smother
She was my intoxicated and I was her libation
The kind of high we were on didn't call for punitive citation
But like the controlled substances for which there is legislation
We wanted more of each other ... one to the other, we were a fixation
We communicated with an embrace without a word being spoken
Whole hearts with whole parts, at this time no hearts were broken
Reading each others tactile actions like a blind man reading braile
Assuring strokes and caresses on the backs of our hands said that love would prevail
Hand holding and the hugs were like the meeting of the minds
She would stroke my cheek and I would stroke hers, in kind
And out of blind satisfaction we'd let our heartbeats be a song
Holding each other for a time ... however long

With all of the embraces and hugs given, along with sweet words
Terms of endearment, pet names and all of the sweet things heard
Promises made ... both uttered and unspoken
Someway, somewhere, somehow we took a turn on a path to our hearts being broken
We can't pinpoint when it happened, but when we looked up it was too soon
And it appeared that our honeymoon turned into a bitter noon
And those moments when we took the things we did in stride and in jest
Led to venomous words at it's worst ... and awkwardness at it's best
Gone were the moments that led to a merry grin
Because before we knew it, the closeness and intimacy grew very thin
And it became a strain to share the same space at the same time
And the more we'd try to make it work it became less beneficent and more of a crime
Where we would once clamor to hold hands ... touches became vague
When regard turned to contempt, we avoided each other like the plague
And the devotion we swore to love, honor and protect
Somehow became the object of insolence and disrespect

The minor details were such that we got along -- you should've seen us
It now appeared that those minor differences drove a wedge between us
So insignificant in our new found love, in unsaid oblivion they'd reside
Only to have them rise to the surface and create a great divide
The differences to what was said to what was heard was oft times mis-construed
And the things that weren't said yet required a response left us baffled and confused
The nagging and finger wagging directed to what was expected of me
Somehow was intended to get me to view a clearer vision of what I was directed to see
Somewhere along the line the concept of dialogue became blurred
And I was expected to do all of the listening while prohibited from being heard
Contemptible and spiteful words became the norm of verbal display
And somehow, every and anything that came out of my mouth was the wrong thing to say
Accused of being insulting and condescending while being called less than a man
Left me highly incensed and insulted with such unfounded reprimand
Leaving me to wonder when did we cross this strange bridge
How was it we were both speaking English yet talking another language

I can't pinpoint the day, or even the hour -
When the sweetness that we had, spoiled and turned sour
When once, all she had was love in her eyes
Then seemingly, overnight she was filled with guile and despise
Contempt became her very nature, after which, everything went wrong
Or could it be that contempt was her very nature all along
A nature that is a nest for antipathy and spite to breed
And grow into an influence that moved you to kill my seed ...
Whether a single act or an instant ... I know not what
But somewhere along the line her loving composure turned into a character that cut -
Me right to the quick and caused the shedding of a few tears
But the mercy of it all, it happened shortly as opposed to being over a few years
I was the one being 'immature' while keeping a level head
I held my tongue for the most part while from her, spiteful words were spread
And unsaid are the nights spent thinking about what I could have done to keep us going full steam
But the truth of the matter, the monster that really reared its head was low self-esteem

Kind words turned cruel and became as repulsive as sour milk
Discussions turned abrasive that were once as smooth as powder and silk
We went from moments of attraction to being bitter personalities
And it became apparent that we were on a path of diverging realities
I tried hanging on because I wasn't a commitment-phobe
The more I tried to make us work she wanted out like a suspect in a police probe
And at some point I had to let her go because she didn't want to stay
Didn't understand at the time, but her words were a means to pull away
In the final analysis ... we were just two different folks
Bearing the weights of two different yokes
Hers, weighted with the burden of the pessimistic and the pensive
Laced with low self-esteem, bringing about an emotional intensive
Minded with the thoughts of being judged, always on the defensive
Paying an emotional toll that just becomes irrational and expensive
With a psyche and mindset built on a dysfunction so extensive
To where my very being became -- for lack of a better word -- offensive

When the sweetness soured it soured in a bad way
What started out as an infatuatory sojourn turned into a bad stay
What started out so right ended up turning out so wrong
I'm sorry we couldn't have stayed friends or at the very least, got along
I loved her and I know beyond knowing that she loved me
But we fell out of love so abruptly we jumped to break free -
Of the shackles of awkward feelings, mean words and uncomfortable adjacency
Hoping for closure and resolve bit settling for contemptible complacency
The sweetness soured ... and the love went rancid
It withered and died much the same way dying plants did
And when it did, I mourned the loss of love as I would the loss of life
I mourned the separation with a woman I hoped would be my wife
To have loved and losses love is one in a collective experience -
One has to go through, and afterwards get deliverance -
From the heart aches and the heart breaks of which the lesser resolved cowars
Careful to guard my heart against tainted love ... lest the sweetness sours

Written by: K. Charles
(c) 2011
 
In the Spirit of Sankofa and Peace and Love!

WHEN THE SWEETNESS SOURS



.....Good to see you back garlicsalt99. I'm not a prose expert by no stretch of the imagination, but to me, this qualifies as a short story. Its complete and never misses a beat, if you will. Excellent write poet.

 

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