verdant terra firma
deep abyss of azure seas
splashing colors ablaze
on a sphere, crafted in chronicles
woven fabric to shelter architectural arrangement
elixir in distilled scenery
a lasting preservation

The mirror is not my friend today,
just like it wasn't last week.
The reflection I see when my eyes peer in
makes me cringe with each sob,
showing a person I'm not sure I remember,
or one that I don't really want to.

"Not today!" I plead with what I see.
"I promised I would try harder!"
Yet that girl stares back,
disfigured and worn. Imperfection
reflected in the smudged glass
I can't look away from each morning.

Her eyes are too down-turned,
dripping pain down her face.
Her nose - too large - a flaw
she got from her grandpa.
Her shoulders - too broad - hold
her head too low, and her
thick arms she got from her mom.

Too small lips, a pointy chin,
and a wide forehead besides.
Two *******, scrutinized, on her chest:
sag from nursing two babes.
A dimpled stomach, with a wide placed scar,
usually camouflaged with lumpy clothing.

A pinch of fat here, dinner
skipped will make her feel a bit better.
Boxes of rouge to define what she can.
Necessary changes, needed to feel right -
Hours spent trying to fix what I can't.
Beauty hidden behind the reflection,
someone I won't ever meet.

"I tried." I whisper to the empty space.
"I'll never see what they see."
She turns her back to me,
the reflection no longer staring back.
Try again tomorrow, I'm reminded.
Maybe then I can leave my home.

blackened universe
sprinkled with centuries
alight in resplendent diamonds

veiled celestial archway
dancing against the velvet darkness
an endless sea of origination

a luminous heaven
vast in unknown desires
deep exhalation in the abyss

skies blanketed in wisdom
arrested beauty in light
I intone, in reverence

Solitude behind the disguise.
Displaced smiles,
we see only in eyes.

Will we ever reach out
to each other in friendship?
Or will fear guide our hands to our sides?

Necessary distance,
alone in a spaced out crowd.
Walking hurried, no time.

Safety in isolation.
Contact no longer needed,
in keeping with the paradigm

Fear in high numbers
greatly denied for a moment,
placated with guarantees.

Denied closeness,
weeping for our past.
Do we invite to death's door to appease?

Sunlight streams through a crystallized window pane
flinging fragments of light across the wall.
Clear, my eyes take in this unclad display
as the ticks of the clock mark a lifeline of passing.
Shadows begin to flee the assailing of light;
Inner angles and crevices of darkness taken over,
quietly seeking to displace my blurred blackness.

Naked in pining, my exposed loneliness allays,
striking in exchange to the gracility of the dawn.
Beams ***** my furtive senses,
caressed with enravishment in every breath and sigh.
Seconds pass, keepsakes pass in slides
quickly moving against my focus;
Remembrances of happiness and treasure.

A elevating breeze floats in
as I crack the casement to the outside world.
The pane, chilly along my fingertips.
Apart in my seclusion and isolation,
rivulets of moisture streak down my face,
after the frailty and withdrawal dictated after loss
bows to the command for closeness.

A whisper of covenants drift along the air,
carried by a past, gentle announcement given freely.
It directly corrodes this battered brokenness.
I inhale the sweetness of paradise lost,
and step forth into the clear morning
with certitude inscribed on an arrow in my breast.
I begin my day, without you, again.

Etchings of sincere thoughts
written down in time
so not to abandon their meanings.

Explosive feelings
falling ardently to paper
agonized with each ache and affliction.

We right any injustice,
defend each analysis,
and plead toward understanding.

Amid life's occurrences,
our audience takes in our wisdom
studying with rapt attention.

eyes softly caressing
fingertips alighting in goosebumps
whispers beckon the night

all are bridges to you

With reckless abandon, I tearfully love
Nearby the carefree heart is laid
Lashes of eyes so greatly beloved
With reckless abandon, I tearfully love
Passion ensued in wishes above
Quietly grinned a serenade
With reckless abandon, I tearfully love
Nearby the carefree heart is laid

striking cityscapes
a focus of symmetry
in slicked surroundings
wet with salty tears
escape in views
solitaire existence; crowded
path to the unknown
follow at your own risk

Drops of sweat, beading and clinging
    breaths of pleasure, carefully singing
          motions carried to and fro
              sighs embracing, craving hello.

Darkening passions never descending
    grasping onto desire bending
          tender night allowed to grow
              devotion displayed in overflow.

Lasting memories forever deepening
    emotions aflutter, gently careening
          hoping against what we know
              twilight consumed so long ago.

It started with a thought -
a solitary lie.
Cunning in it's deceit,
no freedom, lest I die.

No normal pangs of hunger -
gorging beast within my face.
Heaving it up in sacrificial abjure,
a rejected fall from grace.

An act of complete surrender -
heavy pressure in my chest.
The beat continues beating;
Yet I fear it will arrest.

Mirrors turned to enemies;
A smile turned to grief.
A day without ingestion
becomes a dangerously sweet relief.

Abandoning dreams to disappear -
affliction taking hold.
Imperfection sought to fix, with
restricted weight controlled.

It started with a thought -
a solitary lie.
Cunning in it's deceit,
no freedom, lest I die.

Perched along a limb
in the darkening, mercurial eve,
the trickster hovers in mania.

Wingspan iridescent in the shadows,
he stands sharp in his observation
blending in to the dark night.

An indomitable eye in focus,
unceasing with his hoarse call -
Bitter and biting in sound.

He balefully takes flight
gliding over his bounteous kingdom,
secure in the wily, swindling con.

A harbinger of evil,
an omen follows his glide:
the reaper is soon to follow.

The sudden silence provokes
a chill down the spine
curling 'round in stirring fright.

Taking a warlike stance,
he circles over his unsuspecting prey.
Venomous in his feast and descent.

A scythe, sharpened steel,
gripped tightly in bloodless hands;
a lone cloaked being whispers commands.

Rumbles strike open the dirt
in the graveyard beside the oak.
Silhouettes manifest, crawling through the night.

The trickster surveys the siege,
as screams rent through the sky.
The eve of madness is upon us.

darkened window panes
etched with multiple colors
bright, though dim within these eyes

emotions kept hidden
etched with inescapable pain
alive, yet dead within this heart

never knowing where to go
etching lines through these streets
crowded with faceless people

Nervous in her life station,
she tries to contain her anguish.
Her changes show compulsion:
a default haircut to appease,
posture straight to put at ease.
A variant of herself in paint
stares back from the dingy mirror;
A convict so fallen,
infected with poison to testify.
For the value of the hustle
they pander to combine.

Her whisper of wording, in ears,
given in platitudes to entice -
ease her anxiety. She feels
like a suspect in contradiction.
The laugh in her head is cutting,
though musical to the lustful
climate in her employ,
and the benefit of the coup
will keep her on the narrow highway
they have violated her on.
She will soldier on. It is
central to her survival through the lies.

calmness floats along the breeze
lightly brushing my face and arms
deep colors of indigo and bronze
splash across the darkening sky
silence interrupted by nighttime
tickling and buzzing in my ears
each sound a delicate offense
sweetness breaks across my nose
as a sprinkle coats the blackened green
breathing deep the murky veil
fingertips roughened by crumbly bark
soothed by satin covered leaves
soggy steps guided by trails of plush grass
at one with Nature
in all her gleaming glory
and reflection

Stones of shape
inscribed with adages
and memories of lives spent.

Sinking lawn
mossy earth surrounding
damp and concave they allay forever.

Dark and deserted
ceasing age they linger
no one concerns to bother anymore.

Assembled seashells
glittering the sandy shore,
lie as trophies from an ocean storm
shifting from deep to shallow.
Bringing fortune in symmetry -
jogging memories of past journeys
dropped from the energy
fueled by the waves.
Cradled in beds of seaweed,
salted and dried, deserted on the shore.
Tales of the sea's mysterious voice,
whispering secrets in your ear.
Gems from the unchanging sea -
a display I collect to treasure.

wings unfurled in protection
eroded from surrounding rudiments
along a beacon of illumination

visage composed and serene
branching arms cradling cleaving souls
afraid to fade into eternal rest

gifts born from remembrance
weeping, wilting, worn
beneath a wandering ivy-covered guide

quiescent consignor of peace
beyond the cessation of life
- suspended in advocation

I'll sing for you a symphony
    and strum the strings in beats
    an inspired grandiose melody
    of lifelong rhapsody entirely
    four movements my heart completes.

I'll sing for you a chanson
    full of lyrics affecting and pure
    my solo voice defies easy scansion
    to develop an embracing expansion
    admiration is mine to ensure.

I'll sing for you an anthem
    devotion to you alone
    your sacred being beyond fathom
    ardent, I'm held for ransom
    devotion to cherish and own.

I'll sing for you a love song
    every word flows right and true
    to croon an acoustic-filled levity
    with a phrase ensured in brevity
    for your heart I will win anew.

Excitement pumped throughout my palms.
Sitting on the table,
I waited for a sign from you.
Hope lingered,
if only I would have known.

There was so much to look forward to
in this little room.
So many dreams to be had
by this small existence.
Only time would tell.

We held our breath
to hear our future.
Tears and anger followed.
There was no sign.
No sound.
No beat.
No life.

I’ll never forget the defeat
the denial
the devastation
the death.
You had barely just begun.
Now you will never be.

I felt it was my fault.
I could have done better.
I could have dreamed bigger.
I could have wished harder.
I could have…
done nothing.
Nothing.
Nothing.

I think about you often.
What would you look like?
What would you become?
Do you think of me too?
I’d like to think we’d be friends,
past the titles we were originally given,
but it will never be.

You left me that day.
It wasn’t your fault,
but I weep every year.
Understanding has never come.
My heart holds you still,
my joy.

A bend shows in my pathway
ahead. A chilled breeze
knocks against my brain.
Fiery hues surround my
reflections. Missing her
laugh and embraces.
Warm memories floating
like scenes in a storybook.
The leaves maintain their turning
and life keeps moving on.
So I'll journey down this path
that we walked in days past.

The dappled, grey sky fractures,
bringing a petrichor-scented breeze through my window,
mimicking the torment brewing inside.
I lay here, flesh frozen and cracked,
staring unseeing at the empty space I'll leave behind.
The spartan walls crowd in,
circling to compact my overworked senses
from bleeding out of my chest.

The loss parts way to darkness,
accented in sharp, stinging barbs
striking at my once treasured memories.
Holding my breath to stave off the pain,
I drift sluggishly, my arms heavy as lead.

Wrenching air into my starving lungs,
I'm held anchor in this cold prison.
The dreary world passes by
with ascribed demise marked ahead.
My eyes fall closed in cessation,
a submission from lent aid.
A bandage awaits beyond the graveyard.

my bedroom mirror is broken -
an arrant illustration of torment
wrists landmark a spectacle carved in crimson blood
damaged mutterings seeking acceptance
darkness in the corners of self
rapacious hunger cut off by unfilled desire
ribs devoured and exposed, but covered
hiding pain in plain sight
famished; none the wiser
with a cracked precision, I smile

Blossoming moonlit spirit -
a sea of sacred lotus.
A whole heavenly creation
built up from muddy depths.
Sanctuary in the resurrection -
A beautiful revival.

Night assaults in charcoal smudges,
repeatedly cloaking the horizon in darkness.
Hollow ruins coat the empty space in agony
as loneliness clings to every surface,
breathless in the brewing alchemy shift.

The barren and jagged mountains,
though cold and bitter in shadow,
are abruptly caressed by a balmy breeze
exhaling secret incantations into the dampened surroundings.

Beneath the heavy silence of night,
blankets of celestial fires and moonlight foil
spill a summoned revolt across the chasm.
A measured mist of cooled water drops
ventures a dance along a cluster of murky trees
at the edge of a hushed clearing.

Beyond, a presence, plagued and exposed
by the arduous web of darkness,
beats a crippled, even antsy rhythm.
The cessation of its burden is nigh;
the emancipation of daylight - a fated end.

Imposing green,
a lonely stretch
into the streaking sky.

Strong and steady,
never wavering,
even in the gales.

Crisp leaves
flutter and shift,
always reaching up.

Skies with brushes, painted
in deep reds. Pillowed clouds
in shades and hues, comfortable
in their floating presence.

Sloping mountains in solid strength
and character, standing guard -
Witnessing the alchemy
in the pace of the day.

Movement of tides, with fluctuated flow
of sands swirling. Bubbly and boundless,
the peaceful blue is untouched
by the capsule of time.

Mornings breath in vivid decoration,
graciously beginning a jubilee.
We sit, watching and waiting
in nature’s solace again.

pen to paper
joy in the craft
don't lose momentum

a poet should prize
more than the analects
they put to a page

mark my word:
live in colors caught
expose and labor in the flow
sagacity is the destination

Heavy ink-tinged clouds drop
dew splattered attacks across my visage.
Drifting arms splayed in surrender, I
embrace the crush of brokenness
that envelops an armored heart.

A hollowness drills in dull drumbeats
in the pitter-patter of beaded drops.
It's a welcome retreat, stinging of sacrifice,
though annums have expired, behind guises of healing,
I harbor the chills of loss without outward censure.

Numb epigrams, spoken multi-fold to my ear,
bear breakage behind closed doors.
Planning to assuage the bruise
and restrain myself, a burden of knowledge
that you still left, and the falling rain caught on...

Beauty is in the
Eye of the beholder, they say.
Another being might not
Undo my reluctance.
The hours pass by with no recourse,
Yet you stay, and

I’m relieved.
Seeing your truth before me,

My pleasure is yours to command.
In curves and sweeps, you take me
Near to Heaven -
Enamored, I am.

He was known for a puzzling idée fixe
for literature in an array of topics;
Not a citizen of particular themes.
Given to a pursuit of this literary ENTERPRISE,
he would hermit away and ravenously read,
which left him with a pale VISAGE.
He'd dealt with comments of its PERNICIOUS effects,
putting a BLEMISH on his social standing.
Yet, it didn't DAMPEN his spirit.
He didn't shy from upgrading to a learned man.
A mixture of books granted him entrance to
TRAVERSE an ever transforming road,
for which weather had no dampener on.
He was a SENTRY of his own mind,  
following the ASTRAL bodies in the night sky,
to channel knowledge into dreams.

Intimacy found in mystery,
released despite the forbidden.
Eyes, joined in distance,
replies acknowledged in hidden embraces.

Pining turned to fixation,
blinded by the passionate
drive to completely consume;
Burned by expressive awareness.

The journey of a thousand memories,
whispered in late night phone calls.
Stolen kisses, frenzied then tender -
confidences only two can tell.

Behind closed private doors,
desirable physical caresses
are uncovered; Expressively debauched,
in the eyes of pledges broken.

Ties bound to one, divided
by an intensive linking,
that can never freely breathe deep.

With honeyed comments, you absorb adulation in vain;
Drinking it in like a congratulatory champagne.

Down your nose, you smoothly cajole;
Deft at choreographing leverage to reach a goal.

The effete man you put forth is cast in boorish airs -
stealthily exuding to foil all players.

Irreproachable character, you claim in spades,
but to athwart interference you throw up blockades.

Speaking in bitter tones, speeches full of lies suppressed -
churlishly angered with those that protest.

Eyes of pure glass
piercing my soul,
deeper into my heart
until my heart is careened.

Lips as soft as silk
speak words of life,
flowing gently in my ears
like a lover's gentle caress.

Hands as strong as steel
grab hold of mine,
clutching at every moment
as though to possess me.

A man in perfect form
fools with my emotions.
Daring to control me,
I am left wanting.

A love so strong
endures a lifetime.
It overtakes my being and leaves me
breathless...
and
waiting...

millions of multi-shaded visages:
prisoners of coordinated sale
stolen, sea-bound accedence
- casualties for an avaricious pursuit

biting blows stricken upon aching backs
cracks etched in crimson blood
their surrender commanded
- breath stolen for ownership

callused steps, an abeyance walking
bruised with bitter warnings
uttered in acidic oaths
- ebony sacrificed for gold