Orange Blossoms and Blue Eyes

I miss Blue Eyes today. And Brown Eyes. Two of my closest gal friends from Florida. They are both prevalent in my poetry from different periods of my life,

Brown Eyes and I last saw each other last Hallowe'en. Though we were calling it Samhain, which is pronounced in the very unlikely manner of SOW-in. I got lost on the trail, without a flashlight. Then I saw her, in the dark, her light and her two friends, and I met them on the road. I called out for Brown Eyes, and she answered that she'd forgot I called her that. I hadn't. We walked over sand through the beautiful star lit night. I got so drunk as I have never been before or since. And I spoke poetry and told myth. I told the story of CuChullain, and how he refused to die as ordinary men do, and tied himself to a standing stone so that he could enter the next world on his feet. And I recited Yeats. And then Wise Man, one of my own, and Irene, paying me the highest praise, called me a bard.

Irene, another friend, more like a sister than anything, and I painted our faces with blue in the Druidic style of looping La Tene lines and curves. Whether real Druids ever did this or not is of little use to us. It feels true to the Druid heart in the same way that the Myths do, true in a way that reality could never be.

Lulu led us in ritual, stoking the fire, speaking with strange voice, while Charles, Shane, and I and the rest looked on in awe as the flame danced for her. While she whispered in one side of our ears, and then the other, two wild boars began to fight in the underbrush. We gave them their space, as boars can and will kill humans, and they gave us, grudgingly, ours. And we played with it. Reality thinned, the veils opened, and the dead came to witness our revels.

And I... Irene, Charles, and I... All of us that knew Jacob, finally said our farewells and sent him on into Elysium or the Hallowed Lands. Tír na nÓg, the Isle of Apples, Heaven, Valhalla or wherever his soul doth choose to reside. But by God, that man deserves to rest in the heavens next to the heroes of antiquity, shining in the night sky...

Brown Eyes and I talked long hours into the night and parted in the morning. I was drunk, hung over, and aching, finding it hard to walk in the oppressive heat of the early November morning, and no longer stoned, but I broke camp with Nick and I left there with a joyous memory in my heart.

And Blue Eyes? Blue Eyes... One of the closest friends I've ever had. And the inspiration for one of my best liked poems:

Blue Eyes, Pink Lips


I can still remember the cold autumn air
and the night that we met at the beach.
I was too bold, the water too cold,
You, just a little too far out of reach.

I can see the sun rising over the waves,
Another time on Brevard County's coast.
And, when memory slips, I can still feel your lips
and the kiss that I cherish the most.

I can remember the distinct shade of pink
of the gloss you were wearing that night.
And for one moment 'never' felt like forever
And, Oh, how you seemed to radiate light.

It wasn't my first, and it wasn't the last
But in my dreams, it's the one I'm reliving.
And if every kiss was like our fist kiss
Life would be a lot more worth living.

Clinton L Williams II
28 January 2008

It recounts our meeting, and the day I first kissed her. It remains one of the best kisses I've ever recieved, though recently, another Blue Eyed girl has given that kiss a run for it's money.

I knew Blue Eyes during one of the most Film Noir-ish periods of my life, trenchcoated and nihilistic. But I miss that. I miss her. I miss, today, my Florida friends and my Florida life. I miss orange groves and palmettos and hookah lounges. God forgive me, I miss the drugs, and the way they amplified life, and made it more epic in the moment. Made everything painted in brighter colors, and more vibrant hues.

And the Ocean, and all the gods and spirituality that therein reside for me. I miss that, as well.

I start group tomorrow. I missed yesterday. I'll talk more soon.

And if you see Blue Eyes, don't tell her that I loved her.