Blank verse in iambic heptameter
80 doesn't even burn, but I'm drinking 94,
feeling its sting against my throat before the smooth warmth spreads;
soothing, relaxing; though nothing like the pounding, scalding
water on my shoulders, back and buttocks just earlier.
Sitting in my yeti hide fleece pajamas afterwards,
I thought to describe the sensation of that hot shower
on this crisp Jerusalem autumn-winter night and how
I gradually kept on raising the temperature.
Far more than anything else, however, I mostly felt
that any exertion, be it physical or mental,
would ruin my glorious glow; that feeling of the cool
floor tiles on the soles of my warm, bare feet - a reminder.
Standing naked in the night, as I hung up my towel,
my red skin impervious to the chill balcony air,
I relished the memory of steam and hot rivulets;
muscles loose before pouring fine Kentucky straight bourbon.
d’Verse Open Link Night #326
This is a poem that I wrote back in early December ’21… I came across it again recently and enjoyed rereading it for the first time in a long while. I’m sharing it for d’Verse OLN #326.
Let’s write poetry together!
When it comes to partnership, some humans can make their lives alone – it’s possible. But creatively, it’s more like painting: you can’t just use the same colours in every painting. It’s just not an option. You can’t take the same photograph every time and live with art forms with no differences.
–Ben Harper (b. 1969)
Would you like to create poetry with me and have a completed poem of yours featured here at the Skeptic’s Kaddish? I am very excited to have launched the ‘Poetry Partners’ initiative and am looking forward to meeting and creating with you… Check it out!
The Skeptic's Kaddish ๐ฎ๐ฑ 
Dude, what a great sensory delight – delicious warmth both inside and out!
โค๏ธ๐๐ป Chris ๐๐ปโค๏ธ ~ thanks
That sounds like a welcome respite from the demands of everyday life, David! We all should take some “me time!”
๐๐๐ป Cheryl ๐๐ป๐ ~ indeed!
I still get confused over which one to choose… guess plane ticket prices will have the last word after all ๐
๐ โค Veera ๐ โค
There you go getting us all hot and bothered! ๐ฅ ๐ฅต lol
๐๐๐ป Brandon ๐๐ป๐
beautifully present in body and sensation.
it’s not for nothing.
I live closer to Kentucky than you, I surmise
but
planning some 18 year Macallan tonight
I might also shower.
๐
cheers.
๐๐๐ป Lona ๐๐ป๐ ~ I love that label
Boy, I love that description of the hot shower, quite lovely, making me want to take one. Gradually turning up the heat, of course, now that summer is on the wan. I would often take a cold brewski into the shower stall in the hot summer. A shot of bourbon in the winter might fit the bill.
๐๐๐ป Yvonne ๐๐ป๐ ~ that sounds divine!
~David
Warmth inside and outside…the best kind. โค๏ธ
๐๐๐ป Punam ๐๐ป๐
I relished the memory of steam and hot rivulets;
muscles loose before pouring fine Kentucky straight bourbon.
That’s the way to bottom’s up in the cool air of night. Great write David!
Hank
โค๏ธ๐๐ป Hank ๐๐ปโค๏ธ
So beautifully written – I might join you with a Honey Jack Daniels ๐
Yumโฃ๏ธ
Everyone is fixated on the Kentucky bourbon and the hot shower – but I want to know more about the yeti hide fleece pajamas! I was under the impression that Yeti’s were so scarce that they were more of less a protected species… How did you get a pair of PJs??
We order a lot of clothing from a UK store called ‘Next’ – and I have two pairs of fleece winter PJs, one pair of which looks like yeti fur!
I can relate to all these sensations but drinking this stuff. Like they used to say in Russia, “ะ ะบะฐะบ ะฒะพั ััะพ ะฑะตัะฟะฐััะธะนะฝัะต ะฟััั?”
heehee!
I’ll have you know, Dolly, that the whiskeys I drink are all of fine quality!
โค
David
I believe you, but I have tried and failed to appreciate it. I’ll stick to fine wines and rum-based cocktails, thank you very much. Cheers! ๐ฅ๐ป
๐ธ
Well, yes, I love a martini, “shaken, not stirred,” but haven’t been able to find Kosher Secco Vermouth in stores, even though I’ve had it in some fine Kosher restaurants.
I really enjoyed this one David ๐ great piece, full of emotion.
๐๐๐ป Amber ๐๐ป๐