It Happens...

Almost time

The words writhe as they near the surface

Feeling the air is a quarter ‘til ready

Crisp

The pieces of the deep

that hot dry days have been holding secure

Under my arms

Tangled in my joints

Are awake and ripe, now

The light as it wanes in the afternoon

Whispers these verses to spread long in lines

Around my fingers and lips

Roasted pears I pluck from my ribs each Fall

To offer you taste

Or abandon on the ground

Almost time

To turn and find which you choose.

Smoke in the air...

Darkness is loud...
It paints every veil...
Every bouquet lifeless.
Our bed...
an empty battle worn beach.
I have no armor for silence.

The Chasm...

There sits an empty page.
The childhood imagined...
Over decades of rain.

And in the hiding...
No memories bore out.
No widened arms.
A house stands...
left without windows.

All the mourning now.
The fretful lost.
A youth spent...
On wasted heart.

Legacy like wilted stems.
And a doubt...
when newness
should spring petals.

There are no words...
No pain, no love.
Just vast blank space...
Where family should be.

Despite this...
The children of an emptiness
Paint in loving hues.

Bless the mothers
Who fill their children's mouths with love
After a lifetime of knowing heart hunger.

Secrets and Ghosts...

He smiled patiently
as I unlocked the wooden trunk
where all my little secrets and skeletons lie.

I pulled them out
one by one...
unwrapping each
from their parchment dressing.

Laid bare on the table before us
He examined them...
with discerning eyes
Noting the color and shape
Of each little bone.

I waited for the gasp...
The shudder
Waited for him to turn cold
And walk away...

He gently wrapped each
and placed them with care...
into the trunk
and closed the lid.

Turned to me and smiled...
His hand on my cheek
"You were always beautiful to me...
and now I know why."

October Colour...

Oh October moon...

All the darkest lovely things

Spread the forest floor

Shadows move as smoke under your gaze

Forgive me my confessions

Your glow will be the death of me

I'll lie with you and you'll place me in a box

Sleeping with the sickness of night air's love

Waiting for what you've done

The constant knot of innocence

I thought I could move against the grain

Move your sensible heart again

As much as I ever could

I don't need to know you've gone

It seems I've been deceived

And the wind will sweep me faithless away

Peaceful in the pines

Alone with my long cast regrets

Sinking into the soil... midnight cold

Turning with leaves

Falling.

I will...

When no one stands with you,
When they turn their backs
And let your words hang in the air alone...
I'll hold you, 
...a constant

When you've lost your way,
And the signs make no sense,
I'll hold up the lantern carrying the light we once lit...
As long as it takes...

When your best efforts turn to dust,
I'll wash your hands..
Hold your head in my arms
And bring you back the pieces of yourself...
Not lost...
I'll believe in you
As we put them back in place.

Big Picture...

Life and matter
Cycles and moons
Seasons... songs...
wings and all the gliding things
Music, love, and gleaming beauty vast and high
From Heaven it all glows blue below.

But, this I know...
Our love will be remembered.

Overcast...

Drowning in cold grey...

I pay the piper for past sunshine

Paid for joy spent... with interest...

The cost is so high.

The weight taxes my heart into deep red.

I can feel my soul today.

A tangible round presence in my chest...

And it's bleeding...

Just a note...

I am breathless.. 
My mind is teeming with the most clearly defined images
Your sound fills my heart 
The quick air, the low rhythm, the warm smile 
You bring out the deep seed in me that creates 
With language 
With melodies to your harmony 
With longing 
How can one be in such awe of another 
as I am of you 
It should be outside the realm of possibility
To know so much of humanity 
And still be surprised 
Yet, here I gaze at the tall dream of you
The expanse of everything you are
I'm lost in it
Basking in the glow that is your poem
Your voice 
Your presence 
I can't catch my breath...
Are butterflies still possible?

Masked...

Extra pale cream

To blend with the brush

And cover the dark sleepless spells

Even slightly. A lie.

To banish the red 

From showing the nightly pacing...

From tears...

From not knowing...

What to do with all of this.

Dark Burgundy pout

To warn...

Of unresolved wine filled fits...

Of dreams mourned...

and plans cut short...

Thick black liner

Like crows wings spread wide

Sitting on dead branches

Cawing sarcasm at hope.

Lashes painted thick

And Long...

Like Night...

The long sleepless night.

Waving from moon to stars to void.

Morning now is...

Painting daily the masquerade.

Muse...

all the words my soul birthed
and gave away to the air
the ones I never spoke out loud

the fragments of remembered dreams
I arranged in mosaics on paper
the wishes I held under my tongue
like crashing waves
the twisting tremble...

....all the poems were about you
they've always been about you

Matches...

I know your spirit...

It is flight and roaming wonder...

Mine is wild in place.

Fire at home.

This isn't a forever pair...

This matched set.

Still.

To juice for everydrop 

of white fire

And intense smoke... it begs

For as long as the kindling sparks...