And I saw spectres sway
in smoke and smog,
hazy gray, secretive fog.

And from the wings
of the checkerboard dance floor,
I stood, saw and adored.

And in fine finesse, finish and form,
you tore me up from the dance floor depth
and whispered odes I shall never forget.

*And what fools we were for not saying yes.
I am sorry.

May many more manuscripts
find their way to your hands,
your pen,
that slightly chewed pencil sharpened down
to its end.
            Let emails fill and grace and glide into,
            and over, your mailbox,
            all for you to wake up in
            sheer ecstasy’s shock,
            because you’ve just found out
            there’s work to be done.
                        Allow this doing to be your undone;
                        go out conscious and naked into
                        the hazy summer’s sun
                        and dance, for goodness sake,
                        dance woman! as if a newborn
                        locked away in your womb depended on it.

Your tilted head
shifted your waterfall hair
to the left.

In a stream of beguiling blonde
ripples,
your chest was met with a dry splash of gold,
real gold.

Technology at your fingertips,
HTML scripts morphing
into long sentences, bouncing in grammar and not stopping
until you take another breath, another
sip from your coffee cup of bitter death- one sugar, no less.

Daunt Books bag beside your chair’s side,
the faithful mute mule carrying
your words and notes and probably an umbrella too,
it’s raining outside and I wish for you not to get wet.

I'm sleepy
But not sleeping
Faithless
But not cheating
Wandering
But not lost
Paying
But not the cost
Happy
But not glad
Crying
But not sad
Distant
But not far
Dishonest
But not a liar
Wishing
But not hopeful
Praying
But not soulful
Raging
But not mad
Evil
But not bad
With you
But still so alone
In my room
But so far from home

I'm a paradox
Wrapped in straight talk

Have you ever watched someone begin to cry?
The realization of pain,
The fleeting denial, momentary battle against emotion
Then submission,
Tears brimming as the eyebrows tighten
Involuntary grimaces,
The drops searing paths of cold pain down the cheeks

The ugliest view of beauty one will ever see.