LIFE


A black, shriveled tree.
Falling pieces to the ground,
Ash in the air,
The stench of less.
The breath of more.
Dew in the air,
Seeds in the dirt,
A white root that grows.


DEATH

I do terribly wonder what the other side is.
Whispering, I stroke the air
In the night through my eyes,
And the light-breathing cries.
Panicking, I burst for breath,
Wake-finding inside myself
The stench of death.
Who will be my dark bride?

Stirring in the woods,
Chatter,
The red of the morning glow
Breathing through the air.

A lifetime of sleep
Ending with a moment of sight.

Each breath comes closed
With a nightmare tremor,
But I'll try to close my eyes
Once more,
To sleep,
But not to wake.

There's no breath besides life--
The air will tell you so;
Every current telling the time
From now,
And then,
To the cold shiver of fleeting sleep--
And the final sight of the noonward race.

I sit between dark curtains;
In my confine the world is small,
But great.

The lauded greetings of the sun
Sing nothing to my quiet eyes.

I feel the tunnels beneath my feet,
Stretching,
The reach of a world
Starting from my warm breath.

Sitting on the brink,
Playing with overgrown hair
Where the ***** clouds
And dimming moon
Now spell home.

On the shore,
Watching the rolls
Spill their tears.
Another day
Of living reflections
In the silence.

I am the roots of the flower;
Though absorb all the wonders of the Earth I do
Day in
And day out,
I feel no warmth without my pair,
The petals,
To feel the sunshine--
And breathe the air.

Turning a page in the book of Days,
The world read between monochrome lines
Has a sun falling down a distant grey.
It burns with no color.

I turn around,
A red balloon off in the distance
Causes a single tear
For the forgotten memories
Of a childhood left behind.

Feed me your words,
Your eyes.
Hold my hand
Through the bramble-bush;
Let me feel it tug.
Show me the color
Of a night for two,
Melting through our fingers;
Breathe with my fallen lips,
Touching for our love.