Court and Spark

He was playing on the sidewalk
For passing change
When something strange happened
Glory train passed through him
So he buried the coins he made
In peoples park
And went looking for a woman
To court and spark

I love Joni Mitchell. I don’t know if I’m old enough to get to love her, I don’t know if I’m qualified to love her yet, if I’ve reached that point in my life, where your one step past Stevie Nix, and several steps away from Joan Baez…where the words of Joni Mitchell are the echos of your own heartbeats…

But I love her.

Case of You is perhaps my favorite…it’s so fitting to my life and the way I’ve approached relationships, dealt with love…

I met a woman

She had a mouth like yours
She knew your life
She knew your devils and your deeds
And she said
“Go to him, stay with him if you can
Oh but be prepared to bleed”
Oh but you are in my blood you’re my holy wine
Oh and you taste so bitter but you taste so sweet
I could drink a case of you darling
Still I’d be on my feet
Still I’d be on my feet
I’d still be on my feet

Figuring out the natural progression of it all is difficult, at best, I think. I mean, one would proclaim that it should be “easy” that there shouldn’t be too much “work” involved…But the mental energy that is consumed by it all? Honey, that ain’t easy and it sure as hell feels like work…all those thoughts churning, wheels spinning.

What about the spark and the courting? Does it still happen? Do you have to have both for it to work? Can you have the court and not really have the spark…or is it mandatory for it to function as a whole…both pieces must be present.

What the hell, Joni. Where’s the song that tells me that, eh?

I’ve always had a sure fire test for the spark. If he can “come along with me on a trip to Montana” (figuratively, gentle readers. figuratively. we’re still working on the Courting section, we haven’t progressed to the Penthouse Forum section) anyways, if I can actively picture him while in Montana…yeah there’s a spark. I told that to Caro today-after explaining that “going to Montana” was a euphemism- and she said, “well my dad always said ‘traveling together was the key’–maybe he wasn’t talking about traveling at all”

After we picked ourselves up off the floor and wiped the laughter tears away…I got to thinking…Is it NECESSARY?

What if Montana is a place he never travels to? What if he NEVER STEPS FOOT in Montana? What if Montana is filled forever with the same intelligent, luscious smart ass man that’s been my tour guide for some time now? (yeah. don’t even ask who it is. I’m not telling you. I got drunk and told him once, though. THAT was a conversation to behold.)

I wonder…is that Spark something that we really need? or are we falling prey to the movies and the memories of a Bobby Hathaway stomach flip flop from the 8th grade? As we get older, do our needs change? Don’t start jumping and screaming…I’m not talking about sex and lusty lustiness because that’s a no brainer. That has to happen.

I’m talkin about that Spark.

Isn’t comfortable and easy just as good, in the long haul? Aren’t those the qualities that long standing relationships have? I wonder. I really do.

I don’t have the answers. I’m intrigued by the responses I’ve gotten to this question today…what do you think?