a sadness so sudden
the singer is silent
the poet is speechless
the dancer is still
- p. winter
Apr 22, 2022
Apr 22, 2022 at 10:30 PM UTC
the desert whispers…
water, at last, in my reach!
all mirages fade.
- p. winter
Apr 19, 2022
Apr 19, 2022 at 9:14 PM UTC
My father was “always there”, but only as an executive. And only when necessary.
He was not one to show up in the audience,
Or to make plans we could bond over,
Or to reach out when we were apart.
My father always “cared for me”, but only silently. And only as much as necessary.
He was not one to be vulnerable,
Or to ask for support,
Or to give it.
My relationship with my father was built on assumption and disappointment.
I assumed he cared for me to some extent, as a father should,
He assumed that I assumed as much, as a desperate daughter would.
We disappointed each other and called it relationship.
And that became the skeleton of what I learned love to be.
I chase my father in every man I choose.
I find him in their failures
To show up,
To reach out,
To apologize,
To try,
To not leave me to assumption,
And I fight to earn their affection,
Hoping to find his along the way.
I choose the men reluctant to love me,
Because their indifference feels like home.
- p. winter
Apr 15, 2022
Apr 15, 2022 at 12:46 AM UTC
The sun was not attracted
To the darkness in her eyes,
So she brightened them with shooting stars
And twinkling fireflies,
But each morning she would fade away
As he began to rise,
So she made the moon to hold
The mere reflection of his light amid her skies.
- p. winter
Apr 13, 2022
Apr 13, 2022 at 2:39 AM UTC
Curious but reverent,
Like ivy clings to stone,
His hands explore my body and
I wake in bed alone.
- p. winter
Apr 9, 2022
Apr 9, 2022 at 5:36 AM UTC
A sunbeam is not bright enough
To match the glowing of my skin,
For when he looks at me and smiles
I radiate from deep within.
- p. winter
Apr 6, 2022
Apr 6, 2022 at 9:31 PM UTC
women marching left and right
more slender and more graceful
tall and calm and dainty
so astonishingly tasteful
moving like a stormy breeze
both powerful and gentle
i wish they’d come and visit
in the mirror on my mantle
- p. winter
Mar 26, 2022
Mar 26, 2022 at 3:18 AM UTC
walk on, my dear
left foot then right
for i am cursed
with lover’s blight
amid the tears
i’ll smile for you
you won’t look back
i’ll mourn for two
walk on, my dear
right foot then left
you’ll love again
i’ll die bereft
- p. winter
Mar 17, 2022
Mar 17, 2022 at 11:26 PM UTC
his hand so softly stroking my hair
snaking along my neck
pressing in the valley
‘tween my shoulder blades
down
down
down my spine
circling each vertebra
he carves my curves out from stone
hips and thighs and flesh and bone
his thumb traces the profile
of the slope of my nose
and the smirk of my lips
trailing down my sternum
the outlines of my ribs
and stomach
all the round and all the sharp
the dimples
the freckles
the scars
all finishing touches
touches
o’er my body of clay
‘cross my skin of paint
covered in his fingerprints
humming as he works
and i take whatever form he asks of me
- p. winter
Mar 16, 2022
Mar 16, 2022 at 6:38 PM UTC
In strength I think I’m ready,
I can laugh and start anew,
But in illness I’m reminded,
At my weakest
I want nothing more
Than you.
- p. winter
Mar 16, 2022
Mar 16, 2022 at 11:19 AM UTC