Chris Thomas

Chris Thomas Jan 2017

In my dreams, there are colors and carousels
Swimming and spinning
Into a helix of broken hesitation
The dread I feel is insurmountable
Palms drip sweat
Consciousness fades from asphyxiation

Devils awaken from careful slumber
Growling and gnashing
As they enslave my heartbeats filled with envy
In my dreams, there are shadows and shipwrecks
Slinking and sinking
Into depths blurred by this reality

Chris Thomas Jan 2017

On the Brink (of a Lady in Black)

Sitting still upon the brink
Of a lady dressed in black
Shadows fall in metered rhythm
Blanketing a broken heart's last attack

Broad daylight shatters
These ominous September skies
While her radiance tears at the fabric
Of my kaleidoscopic disguise

I press my lips upon her
A pursing to purge our woven fate
Tatters of her torn dress billow outward
But the tatters of my heart can't yet relate

She stares at skeletons on the highway
And I'm not sure if I'll ever make it back
I drift off to dream, still sitting on the brink
Of a lady, dressed all in black

Chris Thomas Jan 2017

Shattered (Set Me on a Path)

Darting to and fro
This early spring has set me on a path
That I may or may not remember
I keep growing older
Yet not necessarily wiser
Because winter lingers on in my daydreams

Shadows are cast
On jagged rocks and sorely lacking hearts
For I am all but shattered now
I keep veiling my eyes
Yet I am blinded by the glare
Of diamonds that shimmer from within

Emptying all its glory
The sky bleeds drops of fear and sympathy
Blooming weeds that have no business here
I keep sleeping on cold, hard, ground
Yet falling out of bed
For my attention is divided among better days

Chris Thomas Jan 2017

Harder Than I Expected

The damage is worse
Than I expected
My wings have been ripped
Violently from my back
In this world of perfect crashing
And unremitting burning
There is no stitch
Capable of fixing me now
Every time
I dust myself off
There's a slinking shadow
That stares me down
Every moment
I plead erased from memory
Returns with the vengeance
Of a scorned partner in crime
A step forward
Is a downed power line
A step back
Is a jagged precipice
A step to my right
Is a barbed-wire sanctuary
A step to my left
Is the path of least resistance
But the choice remains harder
Than I ever expected

Chris Thomas Jan 2017

S-T-N-C

There is no longer a tomorrow
Because the cradles have all been emptied
Our guardians have abandoned their posts
Rock-solid patience, now chiseled down to envy

Distractions are now our consciousness
Sense once was endangered, yet now extinct
The young and innocent are now buried
Just because a father didn't stop to think

Please put the world on notice
Appeal to their stubborn sense of humanity
Because some things will never change
When it comes down to all this pride and vanity

- *Some Things Never Change (STNC)

Chris Thomas Jan 2017

The Spoils

Just a mile from the river's mouth
Beyond the brown fields of idle hands
A desolate hamlet rests
Upon the corner of the earth
Dreaming of banner, flute, and gold
Primrose petals drift in a salty breeze
Scattering like leaves without Autumn's grasp
The spoils of war are long forgotten now
While hearth and home wait on straggling souls
No grey sky would dare to touch the ground
No road of clay would dare to touch the sky
Enemies wrap cold and callused fingers
Around throats singing to the same melody

Chris Thomas Jan 2017

Timpani

Timpani,

Set the beat of my disposition
Be the background to a frail condition
But don't stray too far from this broken heart

Echo the pain of my convictions
Bring forth rains that drown ambitions
But don't stray too far from a hollowed chest

Timpani,*

Become the music in my musician
Erase the scars of this inquisition
But don't stray too far from my humility

Pilfer just a hint of intuition
Become the sound of my ammunition
But don't stray too far from the edge of my sight