Category: Uncategorized

You faded the other day,
like light in Eire’s west, retiring from beating time,
sun and sweat, closing in shutters
making a mess of bed clothes.

These were the bookshelves we left unorganized,
the tattooed skin I couldn’t interpret,
absent-minded that I was back then.

I was innocent of it,
nursing grief wounds that came unhealed,
scabrous in time, that you had helped sew up
lick clean, dress in silk covering.

And how playful we were, naked, unashamed,
frolicking through meadows, melodious,
without care for cuts a branch bramble
would give to those not heeding.

I fell too easily then, coarse feet against
night air and grass stain;
that the trick mirror had revealed
all was worsened from wear.

As your form turned void, shapeless then unholy,
I wept:

thinking of how we would never again be so close to our Garden,
always so distant from Grace, in glass highways
endless stone arches.

I Am a Spider
I am a spider
And you are the dew
That is caught in my web
Though you are not trapped
You could slide down at any moment
Free
Yet you choose to stay
For we are so enamored of each other
I pick you up and carry you on my back
Until the morning sun makes fools of us both

The rosemary bush beside
dad’s house
has gone to ivy. The last four sprigs
reach for sunshine
while the rest suffocates beneath waxy
five-pointed leaves. When
this house sells will the next neighbor
tear it out and hope
for barren ground or will the ivy stay
as if it always belongs? Will the next
neighbors even question
the bush beneath? They won’t know of the bees
that used to dance over purple flowers
and the cabbage moths that fluttered
between the springs. That context of this land
will live only in my mind along
with the memories
of standing in front of that bush
and holding out my hand
for content honeybees to rest on.

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