We huddle beneath the dark curtains
psychedelic lights illuminating our walls
despite the dimmers––––––

and the silent hum of machines
whirring about outside
their blades cutting the night

day time would bring carnage
and so I prayed for light
never to come––––––––

murmurs and whispers from
solemn men whose eyes
were the only things I could see

clear blue skies inhabited
my blankest mind as we
lived our dying moments––––––––

and in the slipping warmth
the squeeze of my mother's hand
a smile and a whisper

momentary bliss
quiet and silence
before the war begins.

Imperial palaces
sweeping the landscapes for
miles beyond the eye's vision
gleaming in their perennial silhouettes
sparkling down the dies
shimmers of light rebounding off their sharp heads
piercing the sky

and the eagles
soaring round incessantly
until the clouds move to their momentum
spinning on apparent winds
grudging none their splendour
printing the ages.

Spring comes, and
woos the bougainvillaeas away
courting bees and dancing butterflies
in their own kaleidoscopes of rain
and summer would sweep the rice fields dry
washing down the cascades of eternity
tumbling into the weight of their knees
fearful just––

Mum would speak of distant memories
forgotten oceans and blinding seas
the salt on your lips and the wash of the waves
burning into the heat of the day



––and we would soak our dreams in the idleness of summer
wander the ellipses and the dunes that were lost
grinding our toes into ever cooler sand
letting them sink deeper

Lifetimes would pass in an instant of thought
flashing by prairies of dancing light
striking in our eyes in countless shades of colour
painting the sky.

Spurious words and spinning wheels
grasping the unmade road
crossing streams of deserted hinterlands
sparing no weakness

Plenty in the fork of the day
shining down like twilight
whittling down the breeze of night
and smashing up the stars

Meandering past the lazy groves
grain in corsets
musk in roses
pushing the littlest hearts
and raising their eyes to the sky
a glimpse and a glimmer
sparkle of the waters
and we were unshackled
lost

In more ways than one
you whispered in the tiniest hours
and I heard the edges of your echoes
resounding slowly and gradually
rebounding for more
filling the universe.

Sleep

I have the hallways of dawn
buried somewhere in my soul
gripping me tightly in our bonds
as we travel the stars and wandering lights
blissful and forever
spinning threads of sacrificial innocence
toying with the clouds of the earth
and pulling the effervescent strings of our universe

Paying the price for our solitude
leaving our eyes behind
settling for wings half-broken but
never letting go
and to be free–––––

Egging me on
hushed in the whispers of infinity
invisible for fragments and
tracing all others on their way
glittering terras and daylights
hiding together

Dreams
always holding my hand
all along the way