Horripilation - a poem

[Image description: looking upwards through a transparent umbrella to view multiple raindrops.

Photo ©️ & courtesy @paubearman on Instagram.]

*

horripilation

a wonderful

if infrequent

horripilant event

a mild evening

a light rain falling

shooting-stars

visible momentarily

passing through

the amber glow

of street-lighting

raindrops tickle

on exposed flesh

a cool breeze

tousling my hair

though

not worrying

how I appear

a sweet, earthy scent

exudes from nature’s pores

penetrates

my nostrils

and stimulates

my olfactory sense

a total

sensual

experience

my id and ego

are in accord

just for once

my physiology

responds

messages

are dispatched

rapidly

breathing deepens

contraction

of cutaneous muscles

erection

of hairs on my skin

temporary pimples

spread like a rash

goose-flesh

and in turn

this arouses

a further reaction

another deep inhalation

then a shiver

takes root in my chest

sending its tendrils

to my neck

and chills

down my spine

all the way to my coccyx

the ignition

to a body-wide

explosion

of pleasurable

sensation

such

horripilation

*

A Spanish-language translation of this updated poem will hopefully follow shortly!

 

apple



unripe lemon

flushing red

lifting the fruit

tentatively you said

testicular examination

wrist action

gentle twist

no wincing reaction

next one

loosens

relaxes into

an upturned palm

fingertip traces

a ridge trail

below you

warm breath glides

sensation races

horripilation

stooping to inhale

musky scent

citrus, berries, wood

caressing still

checking for perfection

wanting more

thumb slides

down the cleft

split in two

now understood

you see

intent

seed spill

how many

progeny

as they say

but all fail

feeling bereft

no scion

no new shoot

no long-coveted child

no would-be

dashed desire

blighted folklore

sexual imperative

wanton

heaven-sent

or natural law 

mutation

family tree

DNA

still wanting

more



[Folklore holds that if you slice an apple, the number of seeds is said to signify the number of children you will have!]

*

WARNING: the following video includes images of a man checking his own genitalia; do not watch if nudity offends!

Men: please check your testicles on a regular basis; the earlier testicular cancer is caught the better the prospects. The following is a video from the charity Orchid - Fighting Male Cancer:

"Orchid exists to save men's lives from testicular, prostate and penile cancers through pioneering research and promoting awareness"

They have a site called www.yourprivates.org.uk which provides much more information and links.

Obviously, if one has any concerns whatsoever, make an appointment to see your G.P. or other appropriately trained medical adviser.

Horripilation

After so much time in Spain and away from the UK, I am beginning to miss rain…

An alternative title to this poem would be 'goose-bumps' or might even be 'orgasm'!

horripilation

a wonderful

if infrequent

horripilant event

a mild evening

a light rain falling

shooting stars

visible momentarily

passing through

the amber glow

of street lighting

raindrops tickle

my exposed flesh

a cool breeze

tousling my hair

though not worrying

how I appear

a sweet, earthy scent

exudes from nature’s pores

penetrates

my nostrils

and stimulates

my olfactory sense

a total

sensual

experience

my id and ego

are in accord

just for once

my physiology

responds

messages

are dispatched

rapidly

my breathing deepens

contraction

of cutaneous muscles

erection

of hairs on my skin

temporary pimples

spread like a rash

goose-flesh

and in turn

this arouses

a further reaction

another deep inhalation

and a shiver

takes root in my chest

sending its tendrils

to my neck

and chills

down my spine

all the way to my coccyx

the ignition

to a body-wide

explosion

of pleasurable

sensation