Spring the Life Fandango
Liz Gallagher
I want something and there are twinges in my heart.
My heart twinges so badly that I fear the act of dropping
down dead before I get what I want. How is that for
momentum or for a god that has the sauciest way of telling
me that I have pushed the boat out too far, I have let
the boat land with a splash and a hoot and I am left in mid
ocean without a paddle – the paddle they had warned me
about, the paddle that takes on a life of its own and even beats
me over the head in my dreams to make me wake
up in the middle of the night with a bunch of hair stuck in my
mouth and my cat licking the back of my hand, frantically
reaching a high meter of lickability that says the big gong is
going to gong and tell me Time’s Up. I’d hoped to never want
something as badly as I want this – all the karma and jinxing
in the world could take it from me with one loose crack
of the whip. I could be sent marching the long way home
without the thing I want badly tucked up in my inside
pocket near my heart, no, on my heart, which now has stopped
twanging and is doing a la-la-la beat. It is not about wanting
to hold your hand nor about shaking all over, it’s about seeing
a tiny dream, like a foamy insole for a favourite winter
boot (a size too big), become something I can lay
myself on and spring, spring, spring the life fandango.
from The Wrong Miracle (Salt Publishing, 2009).
Read more about Liz and The Wrong Miracle here.
Visit Liz’s blog.
I love it. The pacing of the piece is fantastic. Liz has taken an emotion I often feel and has put it into beautiful words. The boat, the paddle, the insole of boots…fantastic. I read this poem several times, and the big gong is still going.
Hi Jules, my favourite image is “a tiny dream, like a foamy insole for a favourite winter boot” 🙂
I’m looking forward to hosting Liz on her virtual blog tour towards the end of the year.
Yes, that’s my favourite image too…….the ending is fabulous.
Hi Julie, Michelle and Jo,
Thanks for your kind words…!
x : )
Have a fabulous time in Ireland, Liz.
I must agree with the insole image comments.
Excellent work…Michelle, life is a dream 🙂
This poem tastes like candy. Great one!
Thanks for reading, Keith, Zoe and Christine… : )