Joseph Yzrael

Joseph Yzrael Aug 2011

Amidst the nightly dimness
Branded by vicious lights,

Minds rife with uncertainty
Perch behind strange eyes.

Foam and froth cushion doubts
Of shadows further down.

Tossing, turning, entwined;
Cries against the dreary drizzle.

Thoughts of daybreak vanish
Upon night's nimble prowl.

High above the goddess grins
Veiled by velvet and dust

As desire siphons, ****** and pins
The embers of livened skin.

Sheets of white glide underneath,
Illuminated by tainted radiance

****** on unfamiliar tracks,
Drowning in oceans uncharted,

Knowing less of the world.

Joseph Yzrael Aug 2011

Rainwater Prayers

Under the blanket of slanted waters, streaming down,
Behind the silver linings of the distant thunderclouds
The eternal sun lies suffocating, sheathed by the storm.

The rain smears the gray heavens. The world
Drowns behind the endless battery of the downpour.

Each trickle, each moment, quickly falling. Fading
Into the cesspool of dirt and debris. The pit
Of emotions and forgotten truths, washed away.

The leaves twist and turn at every droplet's touch
Crying out in soft thuds on the heavy roofs above.

Like the tin roofs and the sun and the heavens
And like the leaves and the dirt and debris
I gently whisper my pleas to the deluge:

*Rain.

Purge me.
Douse the embers
of false passion and ire.

Absolve me.
Cleanse this melancholy.
Ease these memories.

Purify me.
Rinse away the guilt.
Sink these doubts.

Restore me.
Clarify my vision.
Refine my thoughts.

Heal me.
Replenish my soul.
Bring about forgiveness.

Rain.
Revitalize my roots.
Soothe my mind.
Soak my bones.
Calm my spirit.

With your perennial blessings,
Bathe me in your sacred waters
So that peace
May finally find me.

#poem #poetry #prayer #rain #water

Joseph Yzrael Jul 2011

Along the Boulevard

Outside my unseeing windows
Stringed lamp posts
Pierce the deepest night.

Lights still dance
Along the streets,
Reflected in silent pools,
Splashed by gentle roars
Of pavement rubber
Racing the idled road.

Beneath my candid room
The aircon units gargle
Their cold nocturne
Of sleep and thought.

The sidewalk stays mindful --
Witness to murmured kegs
And murdered heels,
Its quiescence reverberates
The gentle parley
Of blaring merchant loons.

The boulevard refuses
To choke in darkness.

My mind will wait until
The clamour of morning
Shatters this weighted gloom.

Joseph Yzrael Jul 2011

Closing Time

Six minutes to closing time
No time left to find my rhyme
With no hours left to start again
I'll simply leave the hanging ends

Five minutes to closing time
No more room for caffeine and wine
I must make sense of my own lies
Before the metropolis finally dies

Four minutes to closing time
No less ease to forgive these crimes
All that I can do is write this sh*t
Hoping peace finds me not unfit

Three minutes to closing time
Treachery still on my mind
Companionship filled with doubt
It's done, time is running out

Two minutes to closing time
Lights begin to flicker in the lime
The traffic chases the stars halfway
And glass buildings melt away

One more minute to closing time
No time left to find my rhyme
I guess this is how it should end
With an apology, a poem and...

Joseph Yzrael Jul 2011

First Sight

Time stops and the world dissolves
into a thin mist, condensing
to form a single point
where your mind meets halfway
with her heart while the earth
and the sky meld with the amber horizon
as the midnight stars descend
to glisten and burst into brilliant supernovae
in her eyes and yours while heartbeats race
to the rhythm of unwritten love songs
and mamihlapinatapai melodies
while thought and reason escape
and words fail inevitably
as both your heart and hers are lost
in a bittersweet tangle
of ghostly kisses and longing fingertips
adrift in a sea of heartstrings
and shifting bed sheets.

Joseph Yzrael Jul 2011

Espresso

Trembling fingers hold
This brimming cup.
Coffee staring blankly.
Mirrored silence.

Bitter taste invades.
My tongue, no longer
Tastes. Scent of bliss
Lingers in my veins.

I drink too soon, cup
Upends, its contents
Spilled in my lap. Reflected
My soul and my heart.

Also published at Dagmay: Literary Journal of the Davao Writers Guild
http://dagmay.kom.ph/2013/09/08/espresso-2/

Joseph Yzrael Jul 2011

Before Reality Sets In

Hand me another,
          I say, 'Til my heart
                    Numbs and my mind
          Forgets all its reason.

                               Actions exaggerate.
                    Unfamiliar thoughts
                              Assail. Mists of haze
          Rouse my shaken courage.

           I'll speak my heart
                              Whilst truth still
                    Hangs, pulled above
          Clouds of disorient

                               Two are one and
                    One are two, My
                              Lips utter only
          Dead words, songs
                    Of broken chords

           Regret, nostalgia,
                    Emotions entwined
                              Grant me one memory,
                    Of how I can get home.

                               Muddy lights, dim
                    My eyes please
                              Swaying earth
                                        Lead the way back.