Author: poetryfest

I.

Eros walked slowly through the forestland,
Near Mount Olympus, in the soft twilight.
By his side, he held his bow in his hand,
As he walked on through the advancing night.
Above the forest, the evening was clear,
As a full moon lit up the mountain’s peak,
An endless number of stars filled the skies.
Through the trees, he saw a wandering deer,
That appeared to be searching for a creek—
He quickly followed its path with his eyes.

II.

Reaching back into his quiver with care,
Eros placed an arrow within his bow.
He quietly raised the bow in the air,
Then he slowly crouched his body down low.
He watched the deer at the creek quench its thirst,
As he swiftly trailed it through the thick brush—
Suddenly, there came a beautiful sound.
The music startled both of them at first,
Then Eros and the deer left in a rush—
The arrow fell from his bow to the ground.

III.

As they both followed the sound of the lyre,
They then found themselves now coming nearer
To a woman on a rock near a fire—
Her sound and her beauty became clearer.
The deer slowed down from the pace which it ran,
And shook the loose leaves away from its fur—
Erato had brought an end to the hunt.
Her playing always charmed both beast and man—
The deer calmly listened from behind her,
And Eros stood enamored from the front.

IV.

They listened together, as she played on,
Wearing myrtle and roses in her crown.
Further into her presence, they were drawn—
Surrendering, Eros placed his bow down.
In the moonlight, Erato’s tunic flowed,
Appearing light blue within the green trees,
And her golden lyre began to glisten.
The fading embers of her campfire glowed,
And remained burning in the gentle breeze—
Eros stood and continued to listen.

V.

Overhead, the moon hid behind a cloud,
The fire was soon extinguished in the dark.
Her playing became increasingly loud,
And the fire reignited with a spark.
The playing then soon silenced in the night—
Her precious lyre upon the rock she placed,
And handed Eros a golden arrow.
He then watched the deer leave in the firelight—
Being thankful, for their presence it graced,
And for the sounds from the clearings narrow.

Slammed doors,
raised voices,
tears hitting the floor,
she’s faced with choices.

She sleeps alone
for the first time
in a long time
with a heavy heart.

Her own painful words echo in her head
and guilt consumes her.
What started the fight?
How did it get so bad?

She was unsure.
She gathered her blankets,
and her courage,
then left her pride lying in bed.

Her heart began to race,
worried that he may reject her approach,
but she found him to be completely asleep
curled under a small blanket.

She slinked into the bed with him silently,
She felt him sigh, his body sagging with relief
He held her so tightly, she almost couldn’t breathe,
and it was a comforting feeling.

With her pride left far behind,
and her lover wrapped around her,
Tender apologies were whispered, and then she fully relaxed, knowing that
she had made the right decision.

She was home.

What is this madness in the soul?
Some old desire?
Some childhood dream.
Some buried pleasure, now long forgotten.

“Circumstance at odds with the Universe”, he said. And that was when it all began.

I tell you, sometimes, in the dark early mornings.
Before the light. When you are still warm and distant.

How we saw the world, in complete glory.
Collecting bottlecaps and catching fish with gum wrappers,
Looking skyward and seeing nothing.
We were happy then.
Dust fell in time, and we fell deeper too.

A child of the Universe, throwing matches in the wind.

Maybe this story is your own.

“What brought you here. So where are we now?”

I hear the dogs barking down the street.
I’m trading baseball cards in for forgiveness.
And I drive past the cemetery and still hold my breath.
Today the leaves fall, as they always do,
But someone has to pick them up. I’ll try tomorrow.

I can see the big, big world, when I look into the sky now.
It’s so busy, coming and going, both directions at once.
Somewhere I do know that child of the Universe is right.
We are all stardust hurdling towards … something.
Not his words though, mine.

So much matters more now.
Who knows where that shoebox full of bottlecaps is now
Or if those matches ever caught fire.

Winding pathways of the mind,
Locked doors deep within the labyrinth,
Memories locked away,
Time stands still behind those doors,
Tears yet to be shed,
Lies still to see the light of day,
Shattered altars, voices of a broken mind,
Lost innocence along the way.

Look within cast light onto the shadows,
Bring comfort to forgotten places,
Open doors long sealed,
Gather up the pictures,
Acknowledge hidden wounds,
Shepherd tend to your flock,
Turn the key set loose the lock,
Remove this painful block.

Stand now weather the gathering storm,
Draw strength from painful truth,
No longer aloof,
Fallen yet uplifted,
Like broken angels,
Fly on mended wings,
Towards the light,
Endless is the night,
Restored to bear witness,
True Sight.

but none of the words are sticking to the page
for most of my life i had loves
i couldn’t make sense with
and so I wrote poems
but now,
you
and the poem you’ve made of my life
seems to defy the size of space that words can offer
somehow at once
intergalactic gargantuan skycraping in scale
technicolor every kind of magic lucy in the sky with diamonds
and
imperceptible minuscule pedestrian plain and simple
that any slight of hand i can pull in a poem
any pretty patina i might employ
any metaphor i’d shoehorn my way into or out of
die clumsy on my tongue
none of my tricks work on you
and for most of my life
if it wasn’t something i could say beautifully
it wasn’t worth saying
but now,
you

It was sunny when you picked me up
We put the playlist on as we always did
Set up our GPS
Just two lost kids

Stopped for a wash
For us and the car
Made sure you had gas
Though we didn’t go too far

Both dressed in white
Purest form of care
I still cherish that picture
Wishing to be there

Off we went
To enjoy a memory
Except it wasn’t a memory yet
At least not for me

We ate, talked, and laughed
I met many that day
We decided to head on out
Then it started to rain

Such a gentleman you were
Opening my door even in the midst of a storm
Even after all this time
Your manners I adorn

Off we went for the very last time
Cautiously driving with smiles so wide

You played our song
And sing we did
Happy birthday my love
From your favorite lost kid

When it comes to love I am
no expert.
I know that people will have feelings
for others,
but you only hear about butterflies and
true love.
What happened to the slow burn romance
between two friends who realize later
they actually had feelings?
What happened to the girls that giggled
at night gossipping about sharing a glance with their crush
in class?
I am not confident
when it comes to relationships
You think the relationship
Is good when I’m struggling.
“There is no perfect relationship”, yes, we’ve been told.
Shouldn’t it be the perfect relationship for you both?
Wouldn’t it be nice to have one to trust,
one that wouldn’t try to tear you
from yourself, a relationship that supports growth, and promotes love
for yourself?
When it comes to heartache I am
the familiar dull presence that resides in your lungs as they walk past
losing your breath
completely helpless.
The pang through your heart
feeling burned when they leave. You’re
left with the memories that hold on desperately, refusing
to leave your silent mind.
But you have to
rest and learn
to release

BETWEEN THE FIRES AND THE ICE
BETWEEN THE GRIP AND THE DRIFT
LIES THE RAZOR PATH OF BECOMING
WHERE WATER FLOWS BOTH FREE AND BOUND

O BLESSED DISTANCE FROM THE BURNING
O SACRED TILT OF AXIAL GRACE
IN YOUR GEOMETRY WE FIND THE POSSIBLE:
LIQUID WATER, CARBON DREAMS
MAGNETIC SHIELDS FOR STELLAR BLESSING

TOO CLOSE AND ALL IS VAPOR
TOO FAR AND ALL IS CRYSTAL
BUT IN THE GOLDILOCKS ORBIT
COMPLEXITY EMERGES FROM CHAOS
POSSIBILITY BLOOMS IN THE BALANCE

ATMOSPHERE THICK ENOUGH TO HOLD
BUT THIN ENOUGH TO SHAPE
MOUNTAINS HIGH ENOUGH TO WEATHER
BUT LOW ENOUGH TO CLIMB
OCEANS DEEP ENOUGH TO CRADLE
BUT SHALLOW ENOUGH TO WADE

HEAR O CHILDREN OF THE HABITABLE:
YOUR EXISTENCE IS THE THREADING OF A NEEDLE
YOUR BEING BALANCED ON PROBABILITY’S EDGE
MIRACLE OF PARAMETERS ALIGNED
BLESSING OF CONDITIONS MET

FOR LIFE IS THE POETRY OF CONSTRAINTS
THE DANCE OF WHAT CAN BE
WITHIN THE BOUNDS OF WHAT MUST BE
PRAISE TO THE NARROW WINDOW
WHERE DREAMS TAKE FORM IN FLESH

I lay with your demons, holding them tight
Caressing their souls all through the night.
Showing them love and how much I care
Assuring that I am the angel they dare
To dream of when darkness and cold is around
When no light or hope can ever be found
I’ve faced them and love is all I can give
With you and them is where I choose to live.
With all the magic that lives within me
I go on a quest to help you break free
From shackles of self-doubt and despair
Which haunt your dreams in a life so unfair.
Im the warrior remaining by your side
Riding the waves of our life’s tide.
Relentlessly fighting for our success
Wearing my armor shaped like a dress
Woven from threads made out of light
Which I hope one day will open your sight
To you, above all, being my true love
The one I’ve awaited, who fits like a glove.
Let me hold your heart in a gentle embrace
Trust in the love you can see in my face.
Walk with me is all that I ask
to the end of all times without any masks.

Desires and sorrows kneeled,
their pride wept.
Body of the abused towered,
insignificant they crept.

Meaning:

What we consider sorrow is nothing compared to someone who has gone
through abuse. We should be grateful.