Tree, I have come to shelter and with the rain to weep
I am soaked, barefoot, with mud running through
soft the moss, cool and cold
to soothe my heart that bleeds.
Our waxing nights of love and moons
now fallow, a field that burns
****** our hollow bed
of haunting, silent screams
too soon the fiery devil
too far my lover
the spring.

words drift away unfettered
from whence they came,
passing like undreamed clouds
– pragmatic eyes to the sky
   in a searching stare –
unsought thoughts disappearing hence
a fog bow fading into sunlight

there are days when
   it comes out in my silence
there are days when
   it falls down in my tears:

muse – muted in poet's pause,
heart and soul whispers
  laid bare unwritten
  behind parsing eyes
disregarded words let loose,
        ungarnered
the way low hanging fruit
falls benign — unharvested —

   shortsighted  insight
   from a bird's eye view
silently fermenting traces
and unfiltered memories
come and go unheeded words,
discarded like the passing
   time of our lives

at times  it's  ludicrous
   to follow down
lingering footprints
left behind callous:
when the shoe won't fit;
slogging across eroding
time-worn stepping stones
scattered on this twisted line
these feet have been walking down,
trying to make a getaway
   from myself

walking away from the memories
like so many indelible footprints to escape
– while dreaming stardust into stars
   in nameless constellations –
reaching out from the inside,
   site unseen,
   trying to experience
   the empirical shape
   of  stifling  silence
   in a theatre made by chance

distilling the gifts and burdens
of trying to live a worthy life
   only I'll see...


harlon rivers ... September 27, 2018

With the lines small in attendance.
We made haste,
Skipping to the front.
A ceremony of shoes,
moving inch by inch.
We felt like kids again.
Amusing ourselves before a rush of anxiety.
Being slung in the air.
Our hands and feet lifeless by our side.
Nothing but stretched nylon and belts keeping us in our seat.
The ****** of seeing her eyes light next to mine.
This was how I felt being by her side.
The anticipation of knowing that at any given moment.
A strange metamorphosis was bound to happen.
The simplest thing such as walking became that much enjoyable.
The endless patter of feet.
Pounding over and over.
Walking about,
Reviewing our love of food.
Funnel cakes, fried Oreo.
A festival of taste buds refined by hers.
An obese smile,
Both our stomachs full.
The anticipation of reaching our peak.
Let out as a loud yell, covered by the sound of laughing.
The sound of bells and dings.
Large to small plush bears & animals given to the winner of each game. 
Her being the best prize there.
Life size

All Hallows' Eve,
Sinks in
With the whirling
Winds
That conjure
Lost spirits,
With Invisible
Forces,
MaGicAllY.
A lost voice
Howls
From inside
The unknown.
To capture
A taste
Of immortality.
But you still
Reside
On this side?
All this time,
You never left
My side.
Every year,
You return
To where
Souls dance
Entangled in
Browning leaves,
No one would
Ever believe me,
If I told them
I can feel you
Here,
As if you
Never left
This
Mortal life.

All that
Fills the air
Now,
Is a barely
Audible,
"Goodbye."