The ink agony
Wraps me like a widow mother
With her dying infant....

~

For this of castled velvet throne
A queen does weep a single tear
Bleak shadows of this night have grown
To cast upon her heart this fear

Reflection polished marble floor
Her silhouette of humbled reach
Now shutters via nightmare’s pour
Alone of bridges fought to breach

Beyond the window valleys sleep
Soft candle flame in slumbered night
Flickering her pain felt deep
Burning through in cautioned light

An empty throne aside her heart
Its warmth now chilled of worried feel
That day her love he did depart
Read messages to long conceal

Her single kiss of cherished due
A farewell bid, pled safe return
Lost amidst this sorrowed view
And loneliness again did burn

As if the dawn had been his shield
In misty haze on moor’s harsh breath
Of forest frame it had concealed
A moment quick of arrow’s death

She takes this single tear she’s cried
Into a glass of liquid clear
This droplet of her love applied  
Her broken heart to wish him near

And brings this potion to her lips
Such bitter taste slow going down
A whispered hope in swallowed sips
To then remove her saddened crown

Upon his throne of gold now rests
She breathes one final moment pure
Her eyes now close of wishful quest
*To be with her sweet king once more

You spoke adamantly of gentle courage
     and sharing spring's flourished nectar,
the swooning rhythm of swaying trees
   and the easeful breezes that flow
     'tween endearment's sensibilities,
misty moonbows 'neath dusk's stormy skies
     lavender sunsets midst rosy horizons,
affectation surging amid life's turmoils
     wallowing in self indulgence &
the harmony of olive branch surrender
    and thrumming heart strings of patience,
it was then I comprehended, darkness doesn't
   last a lifetime when lit by love's fortitude

Poetry like a raging river
Dividing and reuniting
Around rocks as if
Nothing.

Some sentences make me want
To touch each word, feeling  
The braille soul-matter
Beneath each pixel.

Norwegian sun on rooftopped
Reader; beads of sweat fall on
My touch screen
That I

Wipe off carefully in order
To read
Just one
More.

May the same sun warm the
Core of your poet's soul.
May none of the stars
On your night sky of

Creativity
Ever
Even
Fade.

Fused
Cemented
Bonded
Forever connected
the glue that binds my spirit to yours

Touched
Healed
Warmed
Fondled
by your energy, your temperament, your resolve

Admire
Adore
Wonder
Delight
in your every thought

Devour
Savor
Relish
in all that is you

Coddled
Accepted
Amused
I latch onto our times together

Desiring
Yearning
Craving
for possibilities that will never be

I play tribute to you today
To your immense faith
Your capacity to maintain poise
As you plow your way through the desert

I sing a song to you
you inspire in me a sense of unabashed freedom
Of younger days
your will and mine always in sync
We are driven by the meager morsels of sanity left within us
Which roam just beneath the surface of our skin
As it forms and shapes who we are
We have little to give the outside world as it
Has taken much
Yet we forge forward in the darkness
In the full knowledge that we are broken

We take our pieces and lay them out
Like trophies, like emblems
Sharing in our sadness, in our present state,
Yet laughing at the world around us
Which remains clueless, and uncaring

I applaud you my hero, my gallant dark avenger
Where shall we go next? Let's don our capes
And masks, letting ourselves flow aimlessly amidst
The crowd of indifference that hovers around us,
The eyes that seldom see, the arms that never reach out
To us.

I want to bite the flesh of your words
And let the juice of your truth trickle down my throat.
I want to inhale the scent of your joy
And graze upon your sadness
I want to devour your pain
And consume your pleasure
I want to feast on all parts of you
And relish every mouthful
Until my belly can take no more

by Sara L Russell (2003)*

"Who is this goddess?" Whispered the sun,
As the moon traversed the sky,
"This angel, silent as a nun,
This silver dragonfly?"

He moved in for a closer gaze,
His heart began to speed,
As through a misty, cloud-spun haze,
He watched the moon proceed;

Soft silver tresses graced her brow,
Her dress, mother-of-pearl,
billowed like sails on a dream-ship's prow,
or curved tsunami-swirl.

"Oh Lady Moon" murmured the sun,
"I burn, I swoon for you.
"Come let me kiss you, gentle one,
Before night passes through."

"Come languish in my warming arms,
To music of nightjars,
Come let me taste those subtle charms,
Dear lady of the stars."

"Ah, do not court frivolity"
He heard the moon reply.
"My purpose is to steer the sea
And yours to light the sky;"

"Why, if I languished here with you,
Tall ships would run aground,
And you must light each day anew
Or all nature confound."

The sun-god would not be deterred,
But kissed her trembling lips.
As they embraced, no sound was heard
Throughout the first eclipse;

Waves lay as mirrors where they kissed,
Until they drew away,
To drift back into heaven's mist,
As night melted to day.