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1.0k · Dec 2013
Sfumato
Emma Ryan Dec 2013
Your face is not the loveliest I’ve seen
Sometimes you’re condescending and you’re mean
But I was drawn to beauty in your soul
You seemed to be the one who’d make me whole

I could not my feelings cloak
Logic, reason up in smoke

My love was just a dimly glowing light
I thought you needed more and I was right
I was a fool, you never felt the same
My heart is empty and I bear the blame

Unmatched love, the cruelest joke
Dreams, desires up in smoke

You’re worldly and experienced, I’m pure
You’re charming, charismatic, I’m demure
You’re wrong for me, and I am wrong for you
There’s nothing more to say or left to do

Once again, my spirit broke
Confidence is up in smoke

The time has come for me to let you go
From pedestal, join us now here below
My life moves forward though this love is gone
New page, new start, it’s time for moving on

Resolve is like the mighty oak
My life will not go up in smoke.

There was a time when you consumed my mind
I spiraled down; I knew that I was blind
A silly, oft repeated tragedy
I thought of you, you never thought of me

From desperate dreams at last I woke
Sweet sfumato, up in smoke

I wanted you so fervently, my dear
But my desire was covered by my fear
I loathe it so, my naïve, childish heart
It makes me stop before I even start

Destroyed by words I never spoke
Hopes for us went up in smoke
482 · Dec 2013
On Black and Blue
Emma Ryan Dec 2013
I.
Her striking black on vibrant blue
Caught his eye from across the room
Her heart unfurls, reveals a light
She lets him see her darkest night

He’s seen the beauty in her soul
He helps her grow, he makes her whole
Like blossoms reaching for the sun
They thrive in love for years to come

Flash forward to their wedding day
She gently holds a fresh bouquet
A deep black ***** surrounded by
Forget-me-nots blue as the sky

Her blue and borrowed, old and new
Caught his heart from across the room
Forevermore, their love holds true

II.
Her eyes shoot open, she’s awake
It was a dream, a cruel mistake
The sky is black, her tears are blue
There’s nothing more that she can do

I found a love, but at a cost
When sweet dreams end, the love is lost
The flowers feel their final frost
Ekphrastic poem inspired by Georgia O'Keeffe's "Black ***** and Forget-Me-Nots"
384 · Dec 2013
I Could
Emma Ryan Dec 2013
I could take a million words
and weave them into a basket
to hold my love for you

But feelings cannot be contained with pretty words

I could write an equation
and account for all the variables
to define my love for you

But feelings cannot be quantified, there are too many unknowns

I could let my body take over
and dance until I can't breathe
to show my love for you

But feelings transcend the body as they do the mind

I could bare my soul
and let you see all of my imperfections
to express my love for you

If I let you see my deepest self
Then you could understand
The feelings I have for you.

— The End —