~

The rains falls
not hard, more of a drizzle
this late Sunday night
leaning on the light post
across the street,
watching the light in your window,
glowing slats through mini blinds,
outlines of your silhouette,
damp steel seeping my jacket,
cars pass, wipers waving,
splashing in circular patterns,
glistening tire tracks,
straight lines on the damp asphalt

I stare up dreaming,
wondering if you know,
I am nothing without you,
my life is because of you,
so many years floating,
blurs in lingering dark shadows
curbs to sleep in, yesterday's news,
broken bleachers where others met,
and I watched, fearing never me,
darkness would be my hand to hold,
lunchtime falterings on tuna salad wishes,
a clean plate in line for desert,
they just ran out,
vanilla pudding disappointment,
and it was...

I flick the ashes from my Marlboro light,
as I notice the lamp in your room is out,
when did that happen, where was I,
and the drizzle coats my glasses,
a chill claims me as the street light flickers
and I suppose it's time to go
in these saturated high tops
squishing as I pace this sidewalk
of smeared chalk masterpieces

My heart breaks again, my life, this night,
every night on an avenue to the border,
is truly nothing without you,
an empty hull hauling cargo of the past,
an existence worth the lint in my pocket,
a poem folded and kept,
written for you in dreams pasted
on walls of white,
in a hallway of desire with your name
layered in patterns that mirror my heartbeat
and I wonder if you know...there is no other,
none that can compare,
none that could ever be,
no one will ever touch me, thrill me or
love me like you do and I will not be...
I will not be, I can not be without you

Turning to leave these shadows clinging,
sighing as I want you but the hour is late,
the rains fall harder, a liquid curtain
all but blocking my view, blinding me
when a hand on my arm spins me,  
it is you, drenched, smiling, eyes bright
on this dreary night as you tell me
you know,  you know and it is me
and you mean it, I can tell

We dance in the downpour, who cares,
it is us and we are in love, our song,
they are all our songs, you and me,
kicking puddles and laughing
with wet eye lashes, kissing,
soaked with love,
with devotion and sunny days,
moonlit nights and a lifetime with each other
on a sidwalk, a rainy night, a street light
and forever...you and me

~

I always
    wondered
  could my
     dreams actually
         come true,
     then I met you
           and got
                my answer...

           *yes they can

-
I came across to grown men who were fighting in the street
I asked them tell me why this fact is so
What has caused this incident of words and fists to meet
They both looked up and said, “I don’t quite know”

“Then why on earth would two men fight like children in the yard,
out here in the road for all to see
Finding a solution to this problem can’t be hard,
maybe you should both try poetry”

“He said he didn’t like me and I thought he was my friend”
The other said, “He did the same to me”
“That proves he is a liar for those words I did not send”
“The liars' standing right there don’t you see?”

Maybe I was wrong, this might be harder than it seems,
this bickering just makes me want to cry
But hopefully my plan will put an end to all these screams,
you never know, I’ll just give it a try

“Can’t you see our neighborhood is losing people fast,
everyone is running out the door
Never looking back in hopes to put this in the past,
feeling like they can not take much more”

I handed them a pencil and a pad on which to write,
they both looked at me as if I were strange
“Come on, write some verses on this sheet of paper white,
let’s see if this problem we can change”

They thought for a few moments, on their face the blankest stare,
nothing seemed to come across their mind
Then some pencil movement and some words one longed to share,
the other wrote some lines that he did find

They handed me the notepads and I read them both in time,
savoring this moment for a while
One had written free verse and the other metered rhyme,
when then upon my face there came a smile

I handed each the notepad that the other one did pen,
then watched as their emotions did unfold
They both shook hands and said, ‘Let’s try to never fight again”
and there you have my story as it’s told

Yes this write is fiction though you never know what’s true,
maybe in this poem you will see
It truly is amazing all the things that you can do,
when you write, not fight in poetry

.

Pathways lead,
I follow with my eyes closed
euphonious tender wings
of painted treetop songs
counted in measures of bliss

Sunsets drift,
tangerine sleeves roll the horizon
as symphonic emotions call
in echoes of promise
lingering in eternal dreams

Destinations wait,
in distances of northward thought,
where cities come to meet,
and skylines form in your melody,
choruses of breathtaking brush strokes

Passion abounds,
played of satin stringed desires,
sonnets on silhouettes float
in the  harmonies of my heart
*singing sweetly with you

_

In a lemon zest field
of goldenrod and lavender,
where butterflies frolic
in calm breezes
on a warm springtime afternoon
and shade trees cool the day
with outstretched arms of nature,

an aphonic cloud approaches,
menacing in proportions,
clinging to a frightened sky
Swirling leaves and mingled debris
like shrapnel of days long gone

Beneath life ceases to exist
as frayed discolored blooms
litter the now vacant wasteland
and roots exposed on a parched
desolate earth burn
in umber tinted weepings,
coughing of dust bowl deliveries,
while cataclysmic calamities
bring forth the wrath
of the end

And as the cloud finally passes,
dissipating in a mist of forgotten fears
making its way to a darker universe
now waiting on
the other side of hope,

sunlight returns from pale blue skies
slowly breathing, exhaling the past,
inhaling the future…    
a lone butterfly appears
fluttering amidst tiny green sprouts
peeking through a new born soil
*and so it begins…again

-

I drug my feet,
then turned and
marveled at the
perpendicular
lines in the
soft earth until
I noticed you
standing at the
far end,
where I started

I found within the shattered pieces
of this broken heart
a glowing golden orb
emitting an enchanting light,
soft and soothing
A calm swept over me
like a warm gentle breeze
on the most beautiful spring day
of which I had never felt before

My eyes were wide
as a smile found my face, lifting corners
where only a downturned
form had rested before
Sadness seemed a cloud
that was quickly moving away
from the visions I had lived
Once my eyes adjusted
to their new surroundings I saw

It was you, this glow, it always had been you
Lingering long before we met,
before we fell in love, then sadly fell apart
Yet where others would have ended,
we began again, together
walking out of this darkness
hand in hand, within a different kind of love
as we began our new journey
basking in the glow of friendship

~

*Even the
   tiniest show
  of affection
    from her
   is always
      the biggest
     part of
        my day

-

I saw her out there in the park
A kite she held up high
Running at a faster speed
It wouldn’t seem to fly

She looked a bit frustrated
And tried it one more time
Now tangled up within the string
Just like a ball of twine

Oh my god, how embarrassing
I think he's heading my way
Looking at me puzzled
Not sure just what to say

I must look rather amusing
Tangled up like a little kitty
Plopping down defeated
No breeze in this windy city

Look at her, she is so cute
Sitting there upon the ground
A light blue kite rests in her lap
And on her face a pouty frown

“Why so sad,” my heart it breaks
She looks like she will start to cry
“Come on, stand up and let me help”
“Together we can make it fly”

I took his hand and stood back up
Untangled from the twine
Now ready to give it another whirl
He positioned himself in behind

He placed his arms around me
Took my hands into his own
The wind is picking up again
From our hands the kite now blown

It soared high up into the sky
We held on to the string
So far it traveled in the air
Her smile it did bring

“You see, that wasn’t very hard,
it just takes some finesse”
But holding her is much more fun
Yes that I do confess

I looked up at the moon this morning
The sky was hazy, I could just barely see
its very faint glow through the clouds
It appeared sad to me
So I asked, “Why so sad Mr. Moon?”
It replied, “Because I am up here all alone
I have no life, no happiness and no one to love me”
Then it asked, “Why are you so sad Mr. Chris?”
I looked around my hazy world, my heart was
clouded with barely a glow,
then answered, “Because I am you Mr. Moon”

.

I can’t take too many more days like today
I never noticed it was National Day of Loneliness on the calendar
No red circle highlighting anything,
but it came and I wasn’t prepared

There were no cards or decorations to celebrate,
no special cake or pies,
not even a sale at Penney’s, (which is odd on any day)

Just a lonely day sitting at my desk,
staring at a screen (I guess my computer knew)
missing you
Oh, there were a few emails, but nothing that filled this need,
this constant need I have for you

So I suppose I will make a note
in my reminder program
so that next year
on April 7th I will know
that I will be lonely
once again

Can’t wait for tomorrow

~

The shaman held the vial near
it trickled slow into the glass
A'shimmering this welcomed tear
as precious moments came to pass

He shook it slow with tempered stroke,
the gem, his staff, once more did glare
Again the incantation spoke,
an emerald glow was everywhere

“Return this beauty to her form
of daisy rush and willow feel
To cleanse the soul of poisoned storm
and sorrows cast as to reveal”

The sun now but an empty trace,
a fainter amber light is found
As nightfall rushes to the place
above horizon’s silent ground

Another drop, his fingertips,
then quickly her mouth he did lean
To place upon the tender lips
of this, the kingdom’s precious queen

He feared this might have come too late
as others in the room agreed
Yet not with words, but quiet wait
their silence floats on hoped for deed

This staff, its light begins to dim,
the healer breathes in heavy sighs
“I fear, I fear, we have lost him,
indeed our king this hour dies”

When then a flickered lash does flow,
another comes as if to thrive
As now her eyes they opened slow,
*once more, their queen has come alive

.

As we sit looking out over
strawberry sherbet skies,
breathing in the solitude
of twilight’s scented breeze,
remembering the passing day
and laughing at firefly sparkles
glistening in our eyes

I see evening’s first star
appear beyond pine tree shadows,
above a drowsy horizon
An opal on a deep violet canvas
illuminating the desires
forever glowing in my heart,
and I make a wish

Enchanting cricket song
wafts through the fields
in harmony with our heartbeats,
when you take my face in your
primrose petal hands and kiss me,
sweeter than jasmine pudding,
taking my breath away

Then resting your head
on my shoulder you sigh,
telling me I am everything
you have ever wished for
and you will love me forever…
as I look back up at the star
*and whisper, “thank you”

~

“My queen, we feared we’d lost you so”
The healer said in joyous speech
“When here the shaman does bestow
these wishes that we do beseech”

“What have you done, how can this be,
my broken heart can not withstand
You silly fools, why can’t you see,
this was my choice by my own hand”

“Your majesty, we know so true
these actions, orders from the king
He returned home in search of you
not knowing what the news would bring”

A frightened glance, her shoulder pure
“My love,” she rushes to his bed
Now weeping every saddened pour
to find her king now lying dead

“He gave his life so live you would
with every ounce of strength he owned
For from his heart he summoned good
his wish, his queen to stay her throne”

“Oh Knight in armor, promised main,
why did you not protect our king
So I may sit upon my throne
and worry not of anything”

“Be gone, I need you here no more”
She wept, her face a glistened streak
then kissed this man she did adore,
when one lone teardrop fell his cheek

It shimmered bright in colours grand
like prisms floating on the sky
She reached and took his weathered hand
then saw a flutter in his eye

A warmth did flow his fingertips,
his eyes then opened with a gleam
He pulled her close and kissed her lips
“I love you so my precious queen”

Her breath escaped from deepened fears
with heartbeat movements quivering
She cried again, though happy tears
“I love you too my wondrous king”

The kingdom sang and cheered in glee,
a celebration soon had grown
For on this day their King and Queen
once more did sit upon the throne

And they lived happily ever after...

The End?




Meanwhile, the knight of angered soul
Beneath his heated breath did say
Of all these years, a banished toll
*Those two, I swear will surely pay…..

Sinister curtains
drape an unsuspecting window
of moldy caulk
and hairline cracks
letting cold in, cold out,
splitting plastered walls
around a faded outline
of an empty frame,
slanted on stretched wires,
where your picture
once rested

Cloth of blackened residue
dangling from rusted rods,
un-soft fabric in dust crammed air
sifting unnoticed,
settling around knick knacks
leaving shapes and fingered designs
on silent end tables
staring up at
this dark veil
that hangs
with you

The two of us walk
this beautiful day,

sharing life and smiling,
down winding paths
of woven stems
Following footprints to
chilled winter landings
Counting leaves as they fall
in flickering fashions of
assorted shades and pastels
Painting blue skies
with heartbeat brushstrokes,
creating a masterpiece
Pointing to whipped cream clouds,
seeing a castle in the sunset
glowing for only us,
and even though we are apart,
we are still together...

walking, falling in love
all over again

-

Sitting alone on a beach in the sun
Singing a song about love
Watching the rain on a perfect spring day
Wishing on clouds up above

Following butterflies lost in a field
Sharing a milkshake, two straws
Writing a poem for someone to find
Catching each leaf as it falls

Building a snowman with buttons for eyes
Kissing your lips oh so soft
Playing piano with you next to me
Sailing a green kite aloft

Seeing the city when night does arrive
Riding a train into town
Hearing your knock on the front door at dawn
Picking a flower we’ve found

Placing our toes in a slow moving stream
Counting the stars in the sky
Having a picnic beneath an old tree
Sending the sunset a sigh

Holding your hand as I look in your eyes
Whispering that I love you
Awaiting the day when I finally see
All of these daydreams come true

-

This is my spot, just outside these green coffee house doors,
my piece of sidewalk, my place in this world
A small square of concrete where I try to bring smiles
to those in a hurry, hustling past, chasing their lives

Opening the case, I bring out my constant companion
I love her feel, smooth and perfect, she fits so nicely in my hands
Her neck like soft butter against my calloused fingers
A black Takemine cutaway, my favorite guitar, my best friend

There was a time when I would make eye contact,
cast a smile and a thank you at those who would stop and listen
But times have changed, people aren’t as friendly, smiles aren’t
what they used to be and the frowns just bring me down

Now from beneath my hat all I see are legs and shoes, it amazes me
all the different shoes, what they say about a person. Shiny shoes,
maybe a quarter, nice high heels a dollar or two, sneakers,
worn and tattered, my best customers, a five may fall when they pass

It’s not much, but it is a living at least for me and it’s not really a job
I don’t have to be here, I want to…playing music for strangers, for me
It’s kind of like writing poetry, only you listen instead of reading
and the coins and bills finding my case…comments, but better

I start today the same as every other day, with our song,
the one we sang together in school, the song we related too…funny
She was my heart, the one that got away…so what, I never got over her
It’s my deal not yours…I press the strings, fingers preparing to play

She was the love of my life, we were meant to be, at least I thought so
but after school we went in different directions, it happens I guess,
that was so many years back…I lost track of her long ago,
but my mind never did and I suppose my heart didn’t either…I play

A few coins trickle in…shiny shoes, wingtips…feeling sorry money,
but that’s okay with me, it’s food or few beers eventually
Then a ten spot hits the felt, gorgeous high heels, those with a red sole
I know my smile is growing as I arrive at the chorus

“And you fly away today, and you fly away tomorrow”    
When I hear a melodic voice singing along with me, it is the high heels,
the harmony is perfect and beautiful and…sounds so **** familiar…
I lift my head up to see…it is her, after all of these years...it is her

-

After work we meet for a drink
I’m as nervous as I can be
I want so badly to kiss her
She was right there across from me

Tonight was the very first time
And all I could do was stare
When she spoke, I heard sweet music
Like love songs flew through the air

Here in the booth of this crowded bar
One or two drinks break the ice
I'm wanting so badly to kiss him
I'll bet it would feel really nice

Rock n roll blasting behind me
Lights turned down low, very dim
I'm hoping they'll play something slow soon
So that I can dance slowly with him

I should just lean over and kiss her
But what if she gets upset
I don’t want to ruin the evening
That I would truly regret

Finally a slow song is playing
This might be my only chance
I reach for her hand and I take it
Then ask her “Would you like to dance?”

My heart starts to race at his touch
I let myself get carried away
I follow him onto the dance floor
Where our bodies so close start to sway

His arms hold me tightly close to him
My arms hold him just the same
I feel his lips brush past my ear
Then his voice softly whisper my name

Her fragrance is so mesmerizing
Her touch makes my smile ignite
Dancing with her on this evening
Oh what a beautiful night

The feel of her arms wrapped around me
As we move slow across the floor
I sing to her now as we’re dancing
You are the one I adore

I think I am falling in love
I can't think what else this could be
Butterflies inside my belly
My knees start to feel very weak

My eyes meet his for a moment
When he stopped for a moment to look
Now I'm lost in his eyes forever
That moment is all that it took

So many months we’ve been talking
Now finally we get to meet
I’m holding the girl of my dreams in my arms
I feel my heart skipping a beat

My heart is now beating much faster
Never knew it’d feel something like this
I’m in love with this beautiful woman
A dream that I still haven’t kissed

We both want this moment to happen
Up onto my toes I lift for a kiss
His lips open up to meet me
Finally knowing all I had missed

My lips part a little bit more
His mouth covers mine with his
I feel his tongue brushing mine
Never has it felt good as this

I must have landed in heaven
Her lips feel so soft and divine
Now feeling like we are both flying
I can not believe she is mine

We’re soaring high over the dance floor
We spin in the breezes above
That’s just how this moment is feeling
As head over heels I’m in love

~

What can you do with a romantic poet
Flowery words he does drape
Lost in a garden of endless love poems
Seems that there is no escape

Luring you in with his lines of affection
Painting the sky tangerine
Strolling along down a path of desires
Aglow in the softest moonbeam

Writing a sunset of pure inspiration
Sharing his heart in a phrase
Singing a song with a butterfly dancing
Amidst the warmest of days

Yes, what can you do with a romantic poet
I guess you could just look inside
Open your heart for you know that you want to
No matter how much you hide

Or you could scroll down past every poem
That flows from his amorous pen
And look for another that’s more to your liking
*But beware…he is writing again

.

Dark clouds gather
above empty fields
where barren landscapes
feel the coming chill
of lonely times
lurking just over the ridge

Shadows of future dreams
crawl slowly in another direction
Desolate figures
on hands and knees
hide from wanting eyes
and grasping fingers

Sunny afternoons are shoved
into back pockets
with the love poems
written for her
that will never see
the light of day

And as they shovel the dirt
upon this weathered face
teardrops create mud
as the realization comes,
that the darkness
is what was meant to be

~

He stood before the arching glass
as if by angel’s breath was blown
Her beauty lives though she may pass
of any goddess he had known

From there within a pocket slight
retrieved a vial of liquid blue
and raised it up into the light
so glistened in enchanted view

Upon his staff the gem it shone,
an emerald green did flood the room
Now closed his eyes in shimmered tone
with words now spoken, dark of gloom

“Return this beauty to her form
of daisy rush and willow feel
To cleanse the soul of poisoned storm
and sorrows cast as to reveal”

Into the chamber came the king,
he stumbled slowly to her side  
“Dear Shaman let your magic sing,
without her love my heart has died”

The sorcerer he cast no glance,
unfazed in stoic manner seen
“She lives still in an empty trance
not hell nor heaven, in between”

“Our time is till the setting sun
for on that hour all is lost
As spirits call the precious one
a beckoning of lifeless cost”

He raised the vial, tilting so,
upon his fingers several drips
Again the gem topped staff did glow,
then place the liquid on her lips

“This can not be,” his salted ply
“She does not stir, she does not breathe
As darkness wanders towards the sky
In amber moments to perceive

He placed a hand upon her head
to summon fact with tethered scan
“Where be the flask, her poisoned bled?”
*A sentry set it in his hand

~

Fingers intertwined,
  she leads me
to the place
I shall never
      know fear,
   as I follow her
happily
   *to her heart

.

Lush surroundings of
emerald nightscape valleys
upon moonrise silhouettes,
play my imagination
in f-sharp compositions
and bar chord desires
as I slip off into
the soft acoustic melodies of
another mesmerizing evening
*lost within the concerto of our love