bell bottoms & hotpants
“It takes a very long time to become young.”
― Pablo Picasso
colour pencil drawing by dsnake1
bell bottoms & hotpants
the fading polaroids
peel back the years
smile back at me
big hair
big girls
and i hear the mermaids making promises again
they think they are Fawcett clones
sashaying down the street
their bags swinging
their short skirts
threatening to ride higher
their laughter
are the songs that lure
the seafarers to the rocks.
meet you at barbarella's
they would say
that would blow me a chunk
of my pay
but i would be there
in my best polyester
trying to do the hustle
and never good with it
but they are gorgeous
my vivacious mermaids
skipping, bobbing on the dance floor
in their platform shoes
under the disco ball
i cannot forget the way
they twirl the ice cubes in their lemon tea
their tongues licking the plastic stirrers
their lithe bodies wet
sticking to tube tops
their glossy legs in hotpants
crossed on faux leather sofas
as they bum and smoke my cigarettes
on bee-stung lips
"shut up, tell me how do i look
why that sad face, think about my, you know...
i like you but you have been taken.
you don't know what's true hurt is, i do"
and then we all moved on
time and rank pulled us all
on
we grow old
we grow apart
we fall in love
we trip and fall
we die a little bit
and i hear the songs fade away
and the dreams they fall apart too
and a rain rolls over
a shifting wasteland
and the mermaids no longer sing
until one aching night
\\
\ \\ \\
\\
outside the windows a sudden rain.
a rattling of window panes.
they may be calling me already.
11/11/2014
**********
when we were younger, we thought we could live forever...
the mermaids making promises again
*
from “Notes on Melancholia” by M.A. Vizsolyi
This poem was inspired by the lines from the above poem (and some mind wanderings on a cold night). This is a prompt from the Bibliomancy Oracle. It can work in seductive ways.
Shared on Poetry Pantry #308 at Poets United.
© cheong lee san ( dsnake1 ) 2016
― Pablo Picasso
bell bottoms & hotpants
the fading polaroids
peel back the years
smile back at me
big hair
big girls
and i hear the mermaids making promises again
they think they are Fawcett clones
sashaying down the street
their bags swinging
their short skirts
threatening to ride higher
their laughter
are the songs that lure
the seafarers to the rocks.
meet you at barbarella's
they would say
that would blow me a chunk
of my pay
but i would be there
in my best polyester
trying to do the hustle
and never good with it
but they are gorgeous
my vivacious mermaids
skipping, bobbing on the dance floor
in their platform shoes
under the disco ball
i cannot forget the way
they twirl the ice cubes in their lemon tea
their tongues licking the plastic stirrers
their lithe bodies wet
sticking to tube tops
their glossy legs in hotpants
crossed on faux leather sofas
as they bum and smoke my cigarettes
on bee-stung lips
"shut up, tell me how do i look
why that sad face, think about my, you know...
i like you but you have been taken.
you don't know what's true hurt is, i do"
and then we all moved on
time and rank pulled us all
on
we grow old
we grow apart
we fall in love
we trip and fall
we die a little bit
and i hear the songs fade away
and the dreams they fall apart too
and a rain rolls over
a shifting wasteland
and the mermaids no longer sing
until one aching night
\\
\ \\ \\
\\
outside the windows a sudden rain.
a rattling of window panes.
they may be calling me already.
11/11/2014
**********
when we were younger, we thought we could live forever...
the mermaids making promises again
*
from “Notes on Melancholia” by M.A. Vizsolyi
This poem was inspired by the lines from the above poem (and some mind wanderings on a cold night). This is a prompt from the Bibliomancy Oracle. It can work in seductive ways.
Shared on Poetry Pantry #308 at Poets United.
© cheong lee san ( dsnake1 ) 2016
Labels: 70's, 80's, Friendship, old flame, Poetry, Singapore
posted by dsnake1 at 10:06 PM
16 Comments:
Those were some amazing times with the hotpants, hustle and disco....
oh yes, they were, Donna. pretty crazy too. :D
What a time that was... I was too young to be out like that, but I can remember the sight of those mermaids that now are too old. (just like me)
I can see the gorgeous girls, the young man......how do we not know how wonderful being young is when we're young? Sigh. You have painted this well, dsnake. Sad that the dreams fall apart and the songs fade away. But I gain hope in the closing lines......it is never too late to dream, or to heed the call..........
This is poignant, nostalgic, sad all rolled into one. You took some of us 'of a certain age' down memory lane. Hey, I had a pair of those hot pants & high black boots too. Polyester hot pants, of course...LOL...and now I wouldn't be caught dead in polyester. And the dance floor under the disco floor, oh you do bring back memories of a time never to be again. Sad when eventually those songs fade away. I really liked how you wove this poem. A favorite of yours now.
I love the quote - our hair and dress sense may improve with time but I like to think we carry forth with a certain youthful adventure
Gosh :D I love how you take us back in time :D with the vivid descriptions of the hot-pants, hustle and disco. Sigh.. memories are such which can be cherished for a long long time..! Beautifully penned (as always)
Lots of love,
Sanaa
Well you out-did yourself again... that was awesome!
The strange thing is: I'm working on a Mermaid thing now and for the last few weeks! HMMMM! What is in the air? :-)
ZQ
Nostalgia for the "good ol' times"...do we always remember them to be better than they really were!! Especially in the rain!
I like the reminiscent, nostalgic feel to this...and the mermaid addition makes it take on a mythical, magical quality :-)
"bell bottoms & hotpants" ha the wave was worldwide...seems it was yesterday...
Bjorn,
no one escapes the ravages of time. :)
Sherry,
no, it is never too late to dream. one cold night, i was dredging those memories and the result is this piece. :)
Mary,
ah, yes, we know that age!
those polyester hot pants were really HOT! ah, those years! never again. we knew what fun was!
thanks for your warm comment! :)
Jae,
it was a time of adventure then, in terms of fashion and deeds. only those who were through it will understand.
Sanaa,
like a time machine? :D
i guess you're too young to know that period?
ZQ,
we must have been like, on similar thought wavelengths.
what mermaid thing are you working on? i'm curious.
thotpurge,
nostalgia is a sign of growing old! well, we always think it is better than it really was. :D
C.C.
"mythical and magical"!
well, Singapore has its Merlion. :D
Sumana,
yes, i still shudder at the wide bell bottoms! :D
sometimes it still feels like it was yesterday, but who knows, fashion likes to go full circle.
you took me back through memory lane. these are the type of girls i would see all the time in the places i would 'roam' nut never interested me. i always like the natural look. i lucked out and found me one, my partner, my wife.
gracias for this lovely write and journey
how we found our partners, the ones we loved and lived for life, will stay with us.
thank you, marcoantonio. :)
A wonderfully drawn piece - bittersweet and evocative. I enjoyed reading this!
thank you, Wendy! :)
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