Loneliness creeps in
A slow-rolling fog
Time, a numbing existence
Weakening resolve
Replacing logic with
breathless emotion
As the heart of the soul
Weeps with frustration.
Restlessly dangling
Such a delicate string
Frayed by ambiguity
Connected only by a
Thin thread of sheer will.
Pensive, patient passion
The tiny, clinging knot -
A cardinal memory
Growing less vivid
With each day's distance.
Deafening silence approaches
A swarming tempest of despair
Attaching emptiness to, first the eyes,
Then the smile,
Finally, the words.
Bitter air abandons eternity
Flanking the distance
Between two misguided souls.
Avoiding desolation -
Approaching desperation.
Pasty white expectations
Glare accusingly
From every shadowed corner
And glide seamlessly over
Shocking details
To havens of brave disillusion
Where the gravity of…
The silky sound of your voice
Wraps around me like warmth
Sheathing my soul in comfort
Completing all the voids
Soothing spent emotions
Allowing me the pleasure
Of losing myself
In this moment.
Your words glide freely
Through the echoes in my life
Caressing my hollow spirit
Illuminating obscure corners
Vitalizing my senses
Punctuating each inflection
As they flow gently
From your lips.
Silent trumpet sounds
Forewarning…inviting
The oblivious and innocent
Into vacuous voids,
ethereal eclipses -
Angelic wings dance blithely
Dripping tiny baubles of hope
Melting in mid-air
Dreams, splayed like kindling
Beneath a roaring fire
Where sparks ignite the dirt
With stars too heavy to fly toward the moon
Suffocating lest fingertips burn
Leaving ashy-white memories
Subtly heralding promises of pleasure.
Etched on mental panes
Snowflake images of perfection
transforming teardrops
with the heat from one
quiet sigh.
Until the earth claims our bones
Or the wind catches our ashes
There will always be tomorrow
We will always meet again.
Your eyes will seek my soul
In the first light of day.
My lips will call your name
As raindrops echo in the night.
Your touch will melt my heart
As surely as the sound of your voice…
Lost in the music...
Floating down a lazy, winding river
Feeling raindrops freckle my face
Swept into the sensuality -
A romantic interlude
Complete
De capo, crescendo, al fine
Rhythmic and intense
Senses daring to relax
Movement of intimate arms
so familiar - they could have been
extracted from the soul.
Life's riddles explained
If only for a beat
Allowing all the questions - pesante -
Private intimations
Stun and astonish,
With subtle divulgence,
Scattered scantily
Amid common communication
A monotone revelation
Drifting on halcyon air.
An ominous precursor -
Flashing red lights,
Bells clanging, flags waving
Madly with such tragic bane -
Even clouds burrow humbly,
Shrouding rays of the sun
Awed and moved
Propitious foretelling,
A brilliant full-moon flight
Withering silence
simultaneously freed
And paralyzed
By the escape of such
Transcendent truth
Rationed to a rapt mind.
Trust of the un-trusting
Meandering beyond boundaries
Of a self-conscious mind.
There is a silvery shape on the forest floor
A silhouette? A shadow?
A tiny stream of consciousness
Trickling over calamity and joy.
Smooth stones of worry roll and tumble
Under a flickering thumbnail moon
Turning upended tree stumps
Into imaginary monsters with their
Arthritic roots reaching out to embrace and terrify.
Silence amplifies the scurry of squirrels
Scavenging for buried treasure – a delicate balance
Of instinct and grace interrupting
Earth’s sweet aroma
Curling the senses with lofty puffs of wood smoke
Burning memories into deep ravines
Threading an essentially thin lifeline
Through the mind, a silhouette,
The body, a shadow,
And the soul, a tiny stream of consciousness -
A trinity arranged into a silvery shape
on the forest floor.
Alone
At the end of today
At the end of this road
In the middle of a forest
With fluffy white clouds
Segmented by interwoven branches
Waving overhead in the gusty wind
Blurring the lines
Blurring the vision
Eyes squinting
In desperate attempt to create
Sense out of chaos
Comfort out of quiet
Peace with the loneliness
Instead of flailing in discontent
Stirring waves that threaten
To drown the composure
Flood the dreams
And wash hope away like a
Ketchup stain on a favorite white shirt
A tiny beam of light
Streaming in from the unknown
Offering exposure
Offering connection
Expecting nothing less than acceptance
Still looking up
In the midnight of forever
At a crossroad
Tomorrow
Still…alone.
Heartbreak strikes
Lightening
Paralyzing pain
Dull thr0b -
Afterthought of thunder
Distant and invisible
constant tremors of memory
awaken with sunset.
Quiet, angelic stars
Twinkle a ballad of loss
Muffled clouds -
Confusion rolls feverishly
Over the horizon
Escaping with loneliness
Seeking comaraderie
In the navy blue sky.
Thousands of tiny aristocrats
Descend from on high
creating quite a stir
with their elegant air ballet
in bawdy, chameleon costumes
belying proper nobility
while grace abides
modest humility
Spirited twists and tasteful turns
land peacefully in the unlikely design
of a luxurious yellow carpet with bright blood stains
where rests the plebian shadows
of naked limbs stretched
languidly in repose.
The white page stares blankly
A pen hovers above – loaded,
Poised, yet unable to release the ink.
Then slowly
Words begin to fall
One at a time
Like beautifully colored leaves
From the oak tree
Just before winter
Then more swiftly,
Like unarmed soldiers
Rushing onto the battlefield.
When the prolific stream trickles to a halt
A picture pain has painted
Draws its last jagged breath
And settles, exhausted
Onto the stained white page.
I could float away on the rays of the melting sun
Or lie helpless beneath slivers of light
Paralyzing my senses, rendering me a shadow
Forever cast over this life.
I could bequeath my embittered soul to the alluring likes of the devil
Or relinquish control to an angelic force
Struggling fiercely in benign attempt
To satisfy my restless mind.
Brilliant blooms of Autumn
Spray the horizon with
red, yellow and orange hues of sadness
Reflecting the final tiny shards of illumination
As daylight slowly weeps behind
The jagged skyline.
Misty rain calms the changing wind,
Bluffing the clarity of reality
Vivid angles curl in ambiguous circles
Lines of division swirl
Confusing the point of indecision
With a beginning or an end.
Saturated air chills from the inside out
Shivering and silent
Like a wild animal stalking prey
Unwilling to make a sound
Unable to prevent an inevitable freeze
Of apathy and fear.
Buried deep, beneath the layers
Crumpled and decayed with the turn of many seasons
A primal strength whimpers.
Depth can only muffle the scream.
Darkness can only dim the light.
Gaining courage
Boiling toward the surface
At once realizing and relinquishing the pain.
The answers aren’t lying in the middle of a road,
Blowing in the breeze
like dandelion wishes,
Or drifting dreamily on a current’s
journey to the sea.
As illusive as time. Precious as an unearthed stone.
A moment’s lifetime. A lifetime gone.
Following the center line,
Abiding the “STAY OFF GRASS” sign
planted firmly by the walk,
Or floating a lifeboat full of grateful
heartbeats of hope ashore,
Will never change the punctuation.
