Chris Thomas

Chris Thomas Jul 2017

Viola

Oh, Viola
Your missteps are our haven
Dropping, and dripping
Sorbet on the sidewalk
To melt on summer mornings

Oh, Viola
Save the best for first ensemble
Scoffing, and skipping
To the tune of Frère Jacques
A beacon for seaborn warnings

Oh, Viola
A dainty marvel shadow
Flenching, and flaking
Til' Hale Street gleams in purple hues
To banter with the orchids

Oh, Viola
Overhead and underfoot
Whistling, and wincing
From the piercing of a brother
At the pulpits of the sordid

Chris Thomas Jul 2017

Turquoise

Turquoise eyes, wake up
Break this dawn with your vengeance
Swoon another soul

#haiku #turquoise

Chris Thomas Jul 2017

Falter

The mind can only think so much
Before it wanders
Before it dampens
Before it derails

The heart can only take so much
Before it withers
Before it crumbles
Before it falters

Sever the ties before they tighten
Sever the stems before they bloom
Sever this love before I shatter
Sever these memories that loom

Because the mind can only think so much
Before it wanders
Before it dampens
Before it derails

And the heart can only take so much
Before it withers
Before it crumbles
Before it falters

Chris Thomas Jul 2017

Squander

He yearns for where it all began
A small town on the side of the world
Where if you stray too far from home
You might spill out into space
Or what's left of it, anyway

He uses umbrellas, not to stop the rain
But to shield his scars from the dark of day
The cars streak past like comets
Telling platinum tales of redemption
About a fruitless, squandered, life

He takes the stairs because it's faster
Town Square is abuzz with frivolity
The shadows on the walls dance
With their partners and paramours
And he climbs to the idyll of his dreams

He bears witness to apocalypse
A listless world torn from foundations
Starlight crashes from heavens above
Careening into eyes held wide open

And he finally jumps...

...to prevent himself from falling

Chris Thomas Jul 2017

Sweet's Revenge

Stained glass,
It hides the loathing
But nothing can hide the avarice
A southbound train rips rain from clouds
And he frowns as heaven spills her cup

He sips at tea,
Oversteeped
Swimming in thoughts bereft of color
The seat makes him feel claustrophobic
But less so than he felt yesterday

The grinding of gears,
That ****** grinding plays her melodies
Guilt shimmers off mountain waters
While subtle delusions of grandeur thrive
Deep within his heart's lifeless abyss

The train finally stops,
And he buttons his overcoat
As broken words rattle around his mind
The next stop, sweet's revenge upon bitter
The next town, failure's judgment day

Chris Thomas Jul 2017

Soft Tissue

It's true
I used to have a softer heart
I used to feel the ***** of the pin
As it etched across the surface
Inscribing the images
Of your storied beauty,
And tattooing the words,
Such magnetic words
That drew me into your divinity

It's true,
I once possessed a sweeter smile
One that packed naivete in its suitcase
In its travels across my face
Vaulting me far beyond
Time and space,
And into a fairytale,
Such a frivolous fairytale
Forever staining my memory

But now,
I am trapped in this hourglass
With a heart made of granite
And for the first time
In this causal loop,
You're on the outside,
Peering in from the shadows
And the soft tissue
Is far from intact

Chris Thomas Jul 2017

Tripwires

Under layers,
A word lies dormant in the dark
Under pressure,
A quiet rage swells in the deep
Soft earth,
Hardened where good men fell
Eve of eradication,
Waiting on division and the end
Under clouds,
We tear the fabric of blue skies
Under bombs,
We shed the skin of our apathy
Beleaguered body,
Sleep now, so I can dream
Surreptitious knives,
Withdrawn from the back of belief
Wander off now,
Til' tripwires change your mind, child
Come home again,
Death begins at the first uttered word
Come home again,
Life ends at the sound of silence