request one more time
kiss upon the brow
see how the stripe splits
the asphalt
blue blinks to green
foreordained
sprinkles of cinnamon
Tag: poetry
Betrothal
he swirls the spoon around the cup
in counterclockwise circles
as he gazes blankly down
at the countertop
blackness formless may be
but light spoken forth
sparks revelation
a child’s heart turned
a place prepared
he takes another sip of coffee
mind spiraling in clockwise
meditations on eternity
Fading Away
on the rooftop she sits
gazing wearily at the stars
they’re cold she says
just like me
yet a spark of fire
just like me
as she lets drop her hand
brushing the slate
and breathing deep
smoke and fire on the nighttime breeze
To the Back of the Moon
What do you say when a certain someone asks you
to walk down this forest path side by side
for me I look at her and simply smile
and hold out my hand one more time
for in this moment that the sun trickles down
through the springtime fervor
of the trees that mighty roar with life
I cannot hide it
nor deny it
but simply in this moment drink deep and
in the arms of love abide
for i still yet cannot stop shivering
in breathless anticipation
clad in white robes breathing deep of pine
Rendezvous
he leaps down the embankment slipping
on the rain soaked grass
oh well the flowers catch him softly
and then up he springs and off again
for if he has a chance of being on time
he must across country run
if he doesn’t want to keep her waiting
and shamefacedly arrive ten past one
so up the other side and across the
train tracks and down the cobbled street
and then he spies the cafe and through the window
she sits and raises to her lips a cup of tea!
and underneath awning he slips through the heavy door
sits across from her in that antique upholstered chair
and though he’s out of breath
she’s smiling red cheeked herself
brown sparkling eyes laughing
face framed by windblown hair
Understory
See back and forth swings this pendulum above this weary earth. I wish that I could write now of all the things I’ve dreamed yet for some reason – as seems common to most – my dreams are so hazy now that to write them would be fun for only one person – me. I see them still with my inner eye yet to put them to paper would just bore my readers. Is that not true? How often have you told your dream to friends and been oh so excited to share the mystical reality of your sleep state and yet their eyes glaze over for…well, for some reason dreams lose the power in the telling for the majority of their power is in the gauzy visuals which cannot easily be communicated in words. Most dreams, of course. Sometimes though, a dream is vivid enough and one’s command of language is enough to communicate in entirety the luscious richness of the realities of your mind as it trawls the depths of deep subconscious. This is rare though. I have never quite accomplished it, as much as I wish I could. Speaking of dreams. I oft wonder why it is that we so often dream the same dream again and again. Do we all have a dream unique to us yet somehow we are dense enough it must be repeated? Or is that just me? Or another question. Do you have a dream you remember from childhood, one that happened again and again and yet at some point it stopped and you now feel its absence and it makes you weep for nostalgic loss. Our minds are odd to be sure.
I remember a dream of long ago and though I can’t recall having it in oh so many years, its tracing is still fresh and I still feel the rhythm of its lilt in my mind. I am afraid to try and type the bones of this dream here for I fear it will dry up its verdant wonder, yet I will at least say a few words. This dream that haunted my childhood is one of beauty and motion, adventure and gratitude. Gratitude? Why do I use that word. It springs to my mind when I recall this dream, yet I do not know why. The dream itself is tinged in yellow. Yellow grass, the trees on the leaves tend towards yellow and even the air has a golden tint. The path that lies before me is of course made of dirt that seems less brown and more yellow. But though the predominant color of this dream is determined, the destination is not. In the dream my body is less a body and more a disembodied soul. I rush forward quickly and effortlessly, bouncing. There is such a feeling of bouncing and swaying and unstoppable forward momentum. Ever onward I go, along this path, seeing the yellowed grass bend and sway to my side as the trees laugh in my face as I cruise past. I cannot stop even if I wanted to. Onwards I go. I mentioned the leaves, I will mention again. They are yellow but not just a mass of yellow on the tree. Each leaf leaps forward distinctly, the veins bright brown atop the yellow backdrop. I see the leaves vividly even as I soar past. I suppose I don’t have legs, though if I do they must possess marvelous springs for I do bounce wonderfully. Ever on I go through this yellowed wood. There is perhaps a cabin ahead? At least that is the faint thought in my mind as I rush through this forest, but I do not see the cabin. I do hear the stream nearby and now and again catch a flash that must be the sun off the water. The sun’s light is yellow which I feel I must mention because it fits the theme, yet I cannot in honesty say I noticed the sun in this dream. I only look straight in front of me, all else is peripheral. Onward I go. Why is the light so yellow, why is the air so silent? It is a beautiful dream and though I cannot quite tell you why, I can in confidence say that. It is a beautiful dream.
I do not think I have quite captured the beauty of this dream, which hopefully my hints early on in this essay prepared you for. Alas. I suppose I have only my own lacking literary talent to blame. But I am also secretly happy – selfishly so, of course. This dream will forever be mine. It will not be shared and so diluted. The nostalgic spark that flares within me shall not die. I feel joy as I roll this dream around inside my head. But oh! How I wish I could share the beauty now. Beauty unshared tends to turn a little cold, does it not? I have changed my mind. I wish you could see what I see. I wish you could feel what I feel. I wish the truths that spring to my mind unbidden could also flame into life in your very soul. Maybe that is possible. Maybe you will also dream of spring. Tell me if you do. Or if your mind seems to be too much dry tinder and not enough bright fire, tell me that too. We must meet up over a coffee and discuss. We shall discuss the dying thoughts of winter and the yearnings of the west they stir up. And then yes. We shall talk of spring.
Long Time Coming
to dwell on dreams of heaven
doesn’t mean that i don’t
care about the air of earth
i do i swear
yet these chains
chafe fiercely
i cry out for a little more water
and shade my eyes
light light unyielding
i submit to that which i confess
in flowering agony
take the cup and plumb its depths
i will drink it!
Inheritance
tip tap the bird sits upon
the window ledge
and see how the oak leaves
flutter down
upon the yellowed grass
oh has it come to this
though the newspapers weep
i now see that the season
has come
autumn at long last
summer falls streaming on
my uplifted face
for even now my heart races
in the grand consummation
of even the dance of ages
for it has now come to past
that the invitation upon the table
has not been for nothing
no no says she look at the signature
and the wax still dripping
and see out the window the carriage
it is here it is here
far sooner than i could have imagined
far later than i long have wished
these groaning bones have no complaint
no longer
the grass so green under my feet offers a lullaby
and i see the vines leap upwards the strong wrought seaside tower
tick tock sea spray falls
Bricks and Ivy
rain drip drips down from heaven
and she shudders
pulls her collar up
in the unexpected cold
yet her thoughts dwell on abiding joy
for as expectant darkness hovers
the morning birds their songs sing
even in the damp
on gallops spring!
Delighted To Be Sure
she deflected my question
as she leaned back against
the old antique stove
and asked if i wanted a cup of tea
what could i reply to that
but sure
and then as she busied herself with the kettle
i turned back to the table and cut a couple pieces of cake
one for me
and one for her
so now when she handed me the steaming mug of chamomile
i was armed and gave her what she’d had her eyes on
this whole entire time
the chocolate chocolate cheesecake that was her greatest dream
and as her eyes widened in that characteristic joy
i grabbed my mug and sipped and almost burnt my tongue
yet it was worth it without question
to see that smile that never fails
to outshine the sun