Poems By Maree Scarlett
Red Stockinged Feet
My red stockinged feet walked miles
to find you
I found you
on my couch in letters
written in a book of poetry: in dreams
in another land
words, barriers, blurring reality
my feet disappeared
I sank into you, on the couch
comfortable, to muse you -
I drew my eyes shut
and saw you yawn, stretch, sated
laying inside another
on her library
Bed
I yawned too, alone
stretched out
lean red stockinged legs
and opened my eyes
to close
No Caress Through The Night. (for D. G.)
I, you, I, I and you, you wrote me
I, you, you and I, I wrote you
we wrote: our sex -
imagined potential.
We wrote letters, planning copulation.
I would come to you
out of pages and into reality
into flesh, flying the world
to taste your foam.
I offered you myself.
- you offered me reasons
problems, postponement, so my hope fades
where once brightened eyes are taken to a cold reality
of a turned tide, turbulence crashes
at my breast, hope
becomes the slow ember of a dying fire,
waiting to be stroked.
And so, in life I may sleep alone.
My body aching, heart crying
lust not met and relief of my desire
left to my own stroking fingers.
No honest caresses, no murmur of my name
through the day nor though the night
because I as an ideal can not arrive from the pages
of my poems, from my letters
to become a woman composed of flesh
Maree Scarlett was born in Auckland, New Zealand and has written performed and recited poetry and the spoken word all over the world. Her work recently featured in The International Literary Quartely et al. Some of Maree’s earlier works are contained at Stanford University in Russian poet’s Andrei Voznesensky archives.
Maree performed at the home of famous French artist Bernard Locca whose clients included Lucille Ball and Henry Kissenger. She wrote an article “Traces of Memory”, for the trendy Auckland based Pie Paper. Maree has a B.A in philosophy. She has tried her hand at writing live music reviews in Ireland and has been a book reviewer, has done voice over’s for radio and was the voice of campaigns such as the Big Day Out, Powderfinger, Ronnie Size and Soundz, to name a few. She has recorded voice samples for people such as Jeff Scantlebury of the Brand New Heavies and ‘once’ had her own radio show. Maree has appeared in short films, one of which featured her performing poetry in a Freemason Lodge. This film was shown as part of Auckland Arts Festival ‘05 and waspresented on large screen in Aotea Square.
In New Zealand Maree has performed on the same bill as C.K. Stead, Sonja Yelich, Karyn Hay and Michael Hurst. Kevin Ireland (O.B.E) has long been a supporter of her work. She has recited on radio several times and has been interviewed in Pavement magazine and various other publications and magazines.
Lovely layout. Thank you for asking, very much like the idea of ‘copyleft’ and is lovely to be included with some lovely and talented Bangladesh poets and writers.- all the best, Maree.