ilia-talalai
Russian
I am but a passerby /
sent to dance and flitter about
/ in the majesty and vibrancy
of a world filled with love. / I skip upon the surface of all joy. / Each time I am lifted from its shimmering surface... /
not a trace of me is left. / I leave my mark in ripples
that will move in waves /
until the end of time.
I want to kiss you when
the moon is high.
When the silver light reflects
the radiance of your soul.
But tonight the clouds obscure its splendor.
the gray blanket wraps around us,
as the comfort in the other
shines brightly for no eye to see.
I want to kiss you when
the windswept trees overhead
dapple your olive skin in golden hues
while the shadows dress your face in mystery.
But today we hold each other
in the comfort of our home
where the light is constant and
the wind cannot interrupt our reverie.
I want to kiss you when
the summer sun glistens on still water.
Our boat in the middle of a quiet lake
gently rocking our lips together.
But the water burbles
from the sink as we prepare our
nourishment for the busy week ahead.
Through the years,
I have imagined the perfect kiss.
One we can proudly display on the
shelf of our cherished memories.
So precious we could never let it go.
But I forgot
that every kiss is a word
in a story as long as our lives.
I forgot that every kiss is the nourishment
essential to the flower of our love.
One ephemeral drop will not sustain
the flower as it blooms
through the years.
But each day
brings with it
a chance to tend to our love.
Each day the flower can grow quietly as we
dance together with the sun and moon.
Until, one day...
you will see it in your periphery...
surprised by the rare beauty
of a petal unfurled.
Jun 11, 2025
Jun 11, 2025 at 4:38 PM UTC
Your flowers bloom in my mind
When I close my eyes
They pulse golden luminance
in time
with my heartbeat
They do not wilt and die
But bloom within
bloom within
bloom...
Impossibly
so.
May 12, 2024
May 12, 2024 at 10:04 PM UTC
I met you
on a windy day
in the winding heart
of an ocean pass.
I drifted in
on an accidental breeze
(a bumble if I humble)
and landed gently down
in the belly of a
sweet sultry suite
I met you
in a red dress...
and a grin brimming with glee
your grand mirth hugged the whole room
while your voice filled it with life.
your hands to your craft,
your thoughts in a web of humor, skipping.
Yet,
you greeted me in dulcet tones when
your eyes flittered to meet mine;
the sweet fragility of a rose.
we met
in a rich space
In-Between
the briefest of moments
we met
bashfully; guarding our child hearts
we played our roles
as if we did not know.
...
Yet,
for hours we watched
the other
watch the other
my beating heart is
ever the reminder
of the spell
your footfall cast
your gait strong
your heart firmly forward
graceful integrity became you
and my heart learned to beat in its time
memories yet to be lived
evoked in resonance flooded me
I met you
when the trees dancing outside rustled their applause
to the bustle of your cause.
a cup of warm milk
spiced golden
you brewed for me
and placed it
so gently
before me
I cherished
every sip for hours
delicate flavors caressed my tongue as
I felt the warmth of your hand
slide between my lungs
and nestle against the curve of my heart
I cherished
every sip for hours
as you entertained the whimsy
of a quaint magician
and all the fairies that came to graze
I cherished
every
In-Between gaze
for hours
...
Jul 20, 2021
Jul 20, 2021 at 1:59 PM UTC
we found
a moment for us.
a space of tender distance
filled with ineffable intimacy
we spoke
candidly of our shared desire
with words that crumbled
under the weight of our hearts
we sat
quietly,
as the music held us In-Between
and our hearts grew close
we met
when the wind sighed through
trees that bathed in golden light
and when
we touched,
delicately,
hand in hand
all was shimmering
...
contented in the sea of you
I closed my eyes to listen
In-Between
in that solemn home of solitude,
a gift:
your beloved heart singing its powerful footfalls
under each of my heartfalls
and when I breathed in
this marvel of you
your chest rose to
meet my reverie.
Jul 20, 2021
Jul 20, 2021 at 1:55 PM UTC
Shadows outline the imperfect road.
Light glistens off the bricks.
A gnarled tree proudly stands,
Illuminated by a window's reflection of summer's morn'.
The clean crisp wind rustles my skin awake.
A friend smiles and approaches me.
I feel joy.
I feel alive and vibrant in her smile.
My voice rumbling deep inside my chest as we small talk
Makes solid, my bones.
A lady walks by making wild noises that overwhelm my mind with memories of my maniacal old friends,
...I miss them deeply.
A man approaches me uncertainly with a question. "What are you doing?" I find pleasure in seeming out of place,
and reply with a gregarious shrug.
I continue on,
Feeling every step plant firmly in the ground and
Rock my heart in its cradle.
Apr 14, 2020
Apr 14, 2020 at 1:59 PM UTC
this grief of love is quiet...
it does not hit me in the face
to face the ground with a rumbling gasp
it comes tenderly
through the gentle weave of my days
sowing the cold nights in a blanket that holds me tightly
bubbling in the kettle of my heart
percolating through the pores of every shadow that I cannot touch
behind the whispering breeze and gentle sun ray
it pours its burning liquid
sweetly
into every sensation
until
in the start of a passing day
my quiet tears bleed
I stand there
stark
with only one question...
"Why?"
and with every utterance
in this hollow expanse of skull
resounds again
my mo(u)rning heart
Nov 2, 2019
Nov 2, 2019 at 12:50 PM UTC
What is important to thee?
Be it thine own peace,
pure and sacred
Be it thy sweet rest,
sacred and pure
Be it thee dances,
prances and sing,
through the fabrics of thy years
with grace
Be it Love
pure,
and sacred
Forgive thine fledging wisdom
for misguided yearnings.
Its growth is tragic.
o'er slow.
The pace brings suffering
long before the light of clarity can shine on
what thy dreams do say.
One cannot dream this shell of existence anew
without breaking skin.
Cuts and scorns will bleed the soul
like a life laundering leech;
Yet will heal thee in kind
- and oh, what mysterious kind it shall be
Harken to the old oak voice:
"Through those bleak and dark nights
Hold,
with passionate patience
and marveling whys.
Each tender breath,
sacred and pure,
brings a subtle flourishing
and a light will shine."
Time will mend thy fragile frame,
and lest you worry too oft
(and sleep too little)
Harken well this billowing breeze,
as unto thee I say:
"Your heart will rekindle,
Set ablaze by a truth learn'd
pure,
and sacred."
Aug 26, 2019
Aug 26, 2019 at 7:20 AM UTC
Ere I ne'er saw such wonderous beauty that rests before me now:
Bathing in the calm cool shallows of a raging waterfall
Her essence is divine surrender
With hair as black as night
And eyes of gleaming moonlight
A set of pearls match her milky skin-
A gift from days spent basking
Under the gray day sky
Though naught shrouds her delicate curves
She is gracefully clad
by the moss and rocks
The misty trees nourish her vibrantly hued lips
As the wind feeds her breath
Dear Love,
...All the world is thine
And from thee all its magic shine...
Nov 3, 2018
Nov 3, 2018 at 9:20 AM UTC
when you meet me...
hush my love,
don't tell me that this depth
makes you afraid.
That my voice is like a siren
singing on an ocean of words.
A whirlpool
pulling you under
where no light can shine with grace.
Your crashing heart
is yours to cherish tenderly.
In my arms,
you will cyclone to the very
bottom of your soul.
My arms
are here to hold you
while your heartship
splinters and cracks
on its spiraling
downward journey.
Held
in my arms,
you and I will feel it all.
And when it is all over,
when stillness prevails...
from the crumbling shipwreck you
will be born anew.
a mermaid swimming through the ethereal waters of her soul.
Rising up,
up,
up
breaking the surface
to drink her first
sweet sip of salty air...
searching for the land
she once remembered
in a time now lost.
when you meet me...
tell me that my arms are as vast as the horizon,
that they are the very water you breathe
holding you through all your waves and ire.
when you meet me...
tell me that my eyes are like the night sky,
that their depth holds the whole universe
within a twinkling facade.
when you meet me...
when you meet me...
when you meet me...
Sep 25, 2018
Sep 25, 2018 at 9:44 AM UTC
Her energy is amorously wavering
and clad in frail courage
She is bent over me
as I lay waking in the moonless warm night
I am returning through
the confused gateway of the dreamworld
where visions of another world seize
my mind with addlings
of nonsense and responsibility.
My eyes open to
skin gleaming
in the perfect starlight
and flowing hair
framing soft cheeks
and crystalline eyes
She is slowly and carefully drawing her hand across my ear
gliding through the wheat fields like a whispering wind
she grasps firmly the nape of my neck with a timid hand
Yet...
within it,
a guiding intention
I dare not effect.
She lowers her head to nuzzle her nose against mine
her hair veils us both in a canopy of golden strands
as she moves ever closer to
the portal of my breath
the sinuous treasures
tickle my neck and cheek
sublime and demure, her lips slide across mine
a momentary grace before the hesitation
pulls her back
inches from my face
I feel the cool wind of her life draw in
the fluttering I feel
is the gentle quaking of her lips
we dance
as our lips explore
the fragile mirror in the other.
Our breath escapes from the corners
where we have yet to embrace one another
as time stretches, so too the space between
what was inches feels like miles
as the ocean of energy ebbs and pulls within
with an effort that is palpable
she dives deep into the dark cove of my mouth
lips, firm and bubbly, greet a mouth inviting
tongues crash, thick and moist
all her nervous hesitation vanishes in an instant
like an explosion of Monarch butterflies... She is
All passion and delight,
I feel her unspoken love behind all her longing and affection.
her kiss is home to me
her lips are the smooth marble floor
that dissolves in to a bed of plummage where I lay my soul to rest.
It is my being, simple and supple, that transforms them to
naught but softness.
so magnificent, that first kiss
so fleeting her bouncing firm-smooth lips
I doubt I will ever feel anything as vibrantly
unique in this world.
The threshold of our home has been crossed
what was hard and piqued with anticipation
is now soft forevermore
i will never forget that alabaster kiss.
Apr 11, 2018
Apr 11, 2018 at 4:41 AM UTC