Distance does not keep me from thinking of you
Sleeping or awake
You are on my mind
Time does not tarnish memory
A month or a year
You're still on my mind

I am from soap bars unnoticed in supermarket aisles, from Lux and artificial jasmine fragrances.

I am from ****** motels, suspicion strong in the air; far from the warmth of toasty family cottages.

I am from the bouquet of extravagant roses, the dead white one within the reds.

I am from the cholesterol-inducing pizza nights and sharp senses for both the culinary and your lies, from a sinner and an angel and the brave and just the plain stupid.

I am from the self-deprecating and the highly-sensitive.

From you’ll never be able to climb a tree and you’ll never be able to find another me.

I am from the inverted views of the crescent and the star, on my knees waiting to turn back.

I am from the city of the creatively uncreative and its posers and poseurs, plain bread and steamed rice served on China plates painstakingly crafted.

From the not-so-happy ending of mom and dad’s love story, the blood boiling and the tears rolling.

I am from the well-kept, well-preserved antique shelves hidden under our everyday closets; a ***** little secret, secretly waiting to be saved.

Speaking of broken hearts
and mended fenced in mem'ries  
I am painting skies
of tangerine, saffron
& an illuminated lilac hue
against the starkly contrasted crisp cornflower blue, stretching canvas that is
along with all the
other blindingly beautiful colors of a twilight sky

And those dripping cotton candy stratospheric clouds
Ice crystals freezing into supercooled
water droplets
Streaking the sky in cirrus whispers
..I hear them whisper, "hello"...

Blinding beauty
through unadulterated sunlight
I am fleeced like a lamb
watching in awe,
..in wonder
then stomping sounds
of coming thunder,

Finding depth and height
out  in the stratosphere
Blinded by the
After Light
or afterglow
affected by the amount of haze
I'm in a daze
...as I am reaching

High above the fading light
of a brilliant early fall sunset
I take a big breath
of that sumptuous air
and twirl my skirted legs
my painted toes
where I know
I am back
to solid ground

Appreciating the last time
I say sleep well
to you  my dear
summertimes sweet mem'ries
and the fun we had this year.

Cherie Nolan © 2016

we built a house with our bare hands
and you moved out,
then back in and it’s haunted now,
I know you have a hard time sleeping
but I’ve memorized every floorboard
that creaks and it sings me to sleep
every time you try and leave,
I get confused whether it’s the lullaby
of coming or leaving that knocks me out,
this house began to burn and I sat for months
putting it out while you stood
there with cold feet,
and now you’re warm and I’m
stuck peeling the ash off of my skin,
the grass is still green and the
picket fence is freshly painted
but I used the wrong colour,
the door bell is a muttering of
apologies and the doormat is a mirror,
the bed we slept in
hasn’t been made since you left,
I’m stuck sleeping with ghosts
and brushing my teeth beside
no one to tell me that I haven’t
been brushing for long enough,
I’m showering in hot water in the middle
of summer because the steam
pulls the mirror off the wall,
and all I want is for you to come back,
our house is ***** and the callouses on
my hands are starting to become smooth,
my skin is almost clear again,
please come back.

They use fractals for the mountains
And then again for the trees

I think they might use calculus
For the waves upon the seas

Fibonacci works for sea shells
I heard also for the ear

Fibonacci knows the perfect rose
I submit to you my dear

Although not common in nature
If at all it's only a blip

But still incredibly fun for me and my son
When we made our Möbius strip

The most confusing math in nature
Used describing me and you

I learned in school, I know it's true
That one plus one, is two

But you and I together
It feels like we are one

And when you are away from me
The math it equals none