Anthem
By
Jude Kyrie

Take me back to where I belong
With a heart of joy and a soul of song.
Sing youths anthem from up on high
Let youthful passions rise and fly

On mountains peaks let eagles cry
Let young star-crossed lovers woo and sigh
Bring me back my departed friends.
In a place where sunlight never ends

There is a tiny hole in everything
It's where the darkness ends and light begins.
Bring me peace with fragrant springs
Let the light shine out from everything.

She found him outside her small flat
he was in the bloom
of the old fashioned street lamp.
she noticed the grey flecks in his beautiful eyes.
Hi!
he whispered softly like honey falling from a spoon.
She flashed her prettiest smile
And tossed her hair back like she used to.
You look as beautiful as I remember.
She looked at him for some small signal of remorse
but she could not see it.
He wanted her
she felt his need even in the cold night air.
There’s a hole in my existence he said.
His mouth almost smiling.
The smile that had her undress
for him a thousand times.
Why me?
I was never enough before she retorted.
Wanting to hurt him as badly as he had hurt her.
I did not know I loved you
until you were not there he said.
A sadness glowed in his eyes.
And if you remember
it was you that left me.
Why did you leave? He asked
Because you never asked me to stay
she said quietly.
I am asking now he  answered.
She let him into her flat
They undressed and made love.
When she awoke she heard
the click of her door as he left her.
She knew her heart would ache
Just as it had before.
And she knew he would be back again.
And she would let him in once more

Ma’am

I remember the first time I met her
At the orphanage.
I was a lifer
who wants to adopt fourteen
year old boys?
Apparently no one.

She was so beautiful
and had the most angelic face.
Oh! her smile
it was like bright sunshine.

Unsure of how to address a Nun
I always called her Ma’am.
She did not seem to mind.

I think that was when I realized
she was the only friend I had.
What I did not know was
I was falling in love with her.

I have never seen as much kindness
before or since.
It flowed from her.

She stopped me running away again,
and taught me how to read books,
great books by important authors.
To learn poetry and talk about
its meaning.

At this point I knew I loved her.
That confusing rite of passage
between boyhood and manhood.
She took me to the mission where
the homeless lived and we served
in the free kitchen.
I would follow her anywhere
to be by her side.

She was relocated
after a couple of years
to a mission in Africa.
I was desolate
Begging to go with her

I even  asked her to marry me.
She smiled and said
if she was free
she would marry me
in a heartbeat.

But explained gently
to my young heart.
that she was already
married to her faith.
Showing me her gold ring.

She died a few years later
her letters stopped coming.
It was a bout of malaria.

Now when I feel alone
or sad.
I open an old shoe box
and read her stacks of letters

one by one.
Always in the order
that she sent them to me.
And as usual
I feel warm and safe  again.

There’s a famous town that does not exist
It’s in new York state in the Catskills.
It is name Agloe.
It’s a paper town.
Put on the map in an insignificant place.
To protect the mapmakers in 1925
from copyright infringement
By unauthorized reproduction of the map.
I followed a map once all the way to
a place that did not exist.
I travelled slowly to it
Mile by mile.
I loved the thought of living there.
I even fell in love with it.
But it turned out to be a paper heart.
Filling a space where the real heart
Should be it had no feelings or love
It was paper just to look like a heart
to outsiders like me.
So after all the tiring journey
to find it.
I found out It never existed.
Just like Agloe
On the old paper map.
But Agloe never
broke anyone’s real heart.

Yesterday upon the stairs
I saw my ex
but she wasn’t there.
She wasn’t there again today.
I wish she would go away.

A moment in Paris

we walk the rain filled streets
of Paris.
The city shimmers
in the reflection of colors
on the ancient streets.
Her eyes
are wide and excited
full of promises
she will fulfil this night.
The eiffel tower is brilliant
lit up in the colors of the flag
in defiance of those who try
**** the love
in this city of romance.
why do they not understand
lovers are drawn to Paris
like moths to a flame.
it is so now
it has always been so.
we stop below the
bloom of an old lampost.
she kisses me
I feel her softness
pressed against my chest.
I whisper I need you
I want you
and then quietly
I love you
words so long
waiting to be spoken
waiting to be heard.
Paris let's them fall softly
like the night rain.
we are drenched
to the skin in love.

Twilight is a time for perfumes .
The bed is covered with petals
of the night blooming Jasmine.
Its heady elusive fragrances
are calling to you.
only to you.

Come to me again my love.
Your skin bathed in pomegranate
Mine in wild roses.
The nectar of honey
will be our aphrodisiac.

The light cooling
ocean breezes
Will drift into our life
through a welcoming window.
Collecting scents from the
blooming petals
of our night gardens.

Mixing them with
the alchemy of love.
Intoxicating our senses.
Love will mingle
all of our fragrances.
Into a single perfume
that will be called
ours forever.

troilet
by Roland Leighton
1895 ... December.1915

There's a sob on the sea

*There's a sob on the sea
And the Old Year is dying.
Borne on night wings to me
There's a sob on the sea,
And for what could not be
The great world-heart is sighing.
There's a sob on the sea
And the Old Year is dying.

I have seen the sun and moon
Shining brightly in full grace.
I have seen the starlit nights
But never have I seen your face.

I have heard orchestras
Playing sweet music of rejoice.
Heard angel choirs of perfect sound
But never once heard your voice.

I have touched the finest silks
And velvets soft textures too.
The finest objects in the land
But never once touched you.

I have kissed the magenta dawn
And  twilights indigo rise
My lips have tasted the  dew of morn
But never have I kissed your eyes.

In dreams I have done wanton things.
Drank potions from a witches brew.
Awoken in a fiery glow.
But never once with you.

apology

*I must apologize to you.
For having a smile
from ear to ear
for no apparent reason.
And for having tears
well in my eyes
When you speak soft beautiful
words.
That I never believed
An ordinary man like me
would ever hear.

Apple Crumble

She was about six.
That age of endless questions.
Here it came the biggie.
Mommy where did I come from?

Do I make this a biology lesson
Full of penises and ******'s.
Or does she deserve the hard truth.?
I rationalize the truth is always better.
So after a deep breath
I gave it to her.

You come from the snows of the
Canadian Rockies.
Cold endless winter days and nights
when I ached for your father.
Love on the bed and kitchen table.
Underwear strewn about the house.
Burning in fires that needed quenching.
Even as I made apple crumble in the kitchen.

Her eyes looked at me quizzically.
Demanding a better answer from me.
She said
Mom do babies come from apple crumble.
I said yes honey
from apple crumble.

9She was about six.
That age of ceaseless question's.
Here it came. the doozy.
Mommy where did I come from.?
I should have been better prepared.
She had caught me off my guard.
Do I make this a biology lesson.
Full of penisses and vaginas.
Or does she deserve the hard truth.?
I rationalize the truth is always better.
You come from the snows of the
Canadian rockies.
Cold winter days
And nights.
where I ached for your father.
Love on the bed
and kitchen table.
Underwear strewn
about the house.
Burning in fires
that needed quenching.
Even when making
apple crumble in the kitchen.

Her eyes looked quizzically at me .
demanding a better answer.
She said
Mom so babies come
from apple crumble?
I said yes honey
From apple crumble

The buds unfurled to bring green leaves
That slept in silence in winters freeze
Whose voice commanded them to appear
It’s the one that whispers in your ear

The April sunshine warms the rain
The green appears on fields and tree
Who called them all to bloom again
It’s the one who quietly speaks to me

The sky is full of birds that had flown
They call their music from the sky
We know who called them safely home
For we have heard him you and I

A Prayer in the Storm
By
Jude Kyrie

You are new unblemished
from all of life’s torrents.
Your sweet eyes
absorbing your new world.
Like an astronaut
landing upon a strange planet.
Full of wonder bemusement
Fears and joys.

The storm outside
builds on the wild prairie.
Thunder roars in the distance.
Your window open
lace curtains
billowing like a spinnaker.

The cold front fills the room
As I hold your
tiny body to me.
Your mouth milk soured
Your soul
singing in innocence.

I feel the need to protect you
From the storm now
and those to come
in your life ahead.
The ones which will
tear at your heart.
breaking it in two.

I feel the shame
of the waste
of my own life.
And turn your face from it.

I say a prayer of favour to
the heavens
And speak it out loud for you.
To enter into your heart
never to forget this
blood earned lesson.

Live with joy
in your soul
My angel
And never leave
those things that I have
left undone.

Portal To Infinity
for Yuri Gargarin
respectfully
by
Jude Kyrie


The explosion erupted like an inferno below him.
Not a naturally religious man he prayed to his maker.
Then the rush as he lifted off from the sweet earth
At the edge of the atmosphere an invisible barrier
Eons old untouched by mankind but not this day.

As he moved into orbit he saw the wonder of Mother Earth below.
The first words uttered by our species in the vacuum of space
"I see Earth! It is so beautiful!"
He witnessed the Earth for a single orbit

Over Africa the ground control shut of his engines
And he re-entered the earth’s atmosphere
With no power to slow down the craft.
He ejected above earth and parachuted to fame
As The first man in space the pioneer of space travel

When the American astronauts landed on the moon
In July 1969 the crew left a commemorative medal bearing his name
Warmth of mutual occupation and respect melted the ice of the cold war

From Russia came this special man
Thank you Yuri Gagarin



Author Notes

On 27 March 1968, while on a routine training flight from Chkalovsky Air Base, he and flight instructor Vladimir Seryogin died in a MiG-15UTI crash near the town of Kirzhach. The bodies of Gagarin and Seryogin were cremated and the ashes were buried in the walls of the Kremlin on Red Square.
Gagarin was survived by his wife Valentina, and daughters Elena and
Galina. Elena Gagarina, Yuri's elder daughter, is an art historian who
has worked as a director-general of the Moscow Kremlin Museums since 2001.[25] His younger daughter, Galina, is department chair at Plekhanov Russian Economic University in Moscow

Prisoner of my upbringing

I remember so long ago now
Being a baby girl and learning.
Every day learning new things.
Life was like a big notebook
ready to filled in like a journal.

At age six
my older  sister
was in front of the bathroom mirror
She pinched her tummy and scowled.
We skipped breakfast
and went to school hungry.

At  age 9
I was on the school bus
Boys were laughing at a nerdy girl
with thick glasses reading schoolbooks.
When I got home I hid all my books.

At Age 13
I went into the girl’s washroom
The mirrors were all taken
by girls in my class putting on makeup.
And talking how boys only liked girls
who looked older and ****.
The next day I unfastened my braids
put on dark red lipstick
and black eye shadow.
Wearing short shorts and a low tank top.

At age 15
I saw my father drunk and angry
He hit my mother, mom wept and said he
didn’t mean it.
he was under a lot of  pressure at work.
The next year I said my boyfriend
didn’t mean it either.
when he hit me.

At Age 20
I looked into the full length mirror
My gaunt starved body looked back at me.
The dead looking lanky blonde hair
and translucent skin looked death like.
The black eye shadow on my eyes
looked like a corpse
The dark red lips seemed out of character.
I shrugged my bony shoulders
And said
Well at least I am normal.

A  Rainbow over New York
Come September


September 11 2001

As a little girl in grade two
he sat next to me at school.
I always liked him.
no much more than that.
Later in high school
we walked home together.
He would carry my books.
At graduation he was my date.
We even went to college together.
That was when we broke the chains
of friendship and he became my lover.
My first and only love.

We married young
it was no surprise
to our parents
they were expecting it.
Before I knew it
we had three kids.
Two girls and a boy.
Our son looks just like him.

It was just like any other day
He came home from work
Cooked burgers on the barbeque.
We got the kids to bed
drank a glass of wine
went to bed at ten.

He wanted to make love
but I was exhausted
the kids had been terrors all day.
The next day he kissed me goodbye
With a see you later honey.

I got a call from my friend
She said put on the TV
I saw the towers fall
Turning to ashes
Like my life did that moment.
All I could think was
I wish I had made love
to him last night.

September 11 2015

The children are all grown up now
He would be so proud of them.
I look at my strong handsome son.
He looks like him exactly
We stand at ground zero
and say a prayer.

I whisper it was always you honey
Only you.
As if by magic he answered me
A giant beautiful rainbow
Circled over New York
And I know for sure
it was for me.*

The big story everyone knows
it's the tiny dramas that stay
forever.
Jude

Don't you think it's strange?
Since you left me alone.
We were once
only one person.
I did not know where
you ended and I began.
Now we are two total strangers
That know all the expressions
of love that exist
in each other hearts.

I know you're not coming
back to me, honey.
No need to keep calling me.
You're falling into a pit of guilt love.
You asked me every day.
Are you OK?
Well no,
I am not OK.
I have not been Ok
since
I was a little boy in grade school.
But every morning
I shower,
I shave ,
Put on a clean shirt.
I slap on aftershave
and breathe as deep as I can.
Sometimes
That has to be enough for me.

The Girl who spent heartbeats
By
Jude  Kyrie.

Her currency was heartbeats
She only shopped with time.
She paid for things with seconds
As she waited in a line.

You cannot put heartbeats in a bank.
To save for a rainy day.
You either use them or you lose them.
I guess heartbeat’s are made that way.

She would spend her heartbeats on strangers
As they shared all their troubles and woes.
Because kind hearts are worth more than gold.
And go much further than money goes.

She spent a heap of heartbeats on moments
Visiting old and precious friends.
Who wondered how she was always happy.
With so little money to spend.

But money only buys possessions
While heartbeats buy much more.
They buy  you friends and love and laughter.
And a warm  smile at every door.

It a fact you can’t buy heartbeats
When you have used them they are gone
So spend your heartbeats wisely
For one day you will have none.

Aren't we a pair......
by
jude kyrie

Don't you think it's strange my love?
Since you left me .
We were once like
only one person.
I still awake broken when
I awake in an empty bed?
Where is the rest of me.

Sometimes I bury my face
into your pillow.
Yes, so now you know
it is still sleeping
next to my head.

If I close my mind
I can still detect the odor
Of your familiar perfume.
And for this brief moment
you are with me once more.

I did not know where
you ended and I began.
when I see you now..
you politely chat to me.
like two total strangers.

strangers that know
all the expressions
Needs and desires
of love that exist
in each other hearts

Venice 1825

The old lady sat by her window.
As always looking over saint Marks square.
It was her view her memories her Venice.
She had seen him first from this very spot.
So many long years ago when she was a girl.
He was so beautiful she took the warmth
from the memory it turned into a smile.
Just a fleeting glance of him yet
she remembered the emotion.
She knew he was to be hers only hers.
She saw his routine everyday he would
feed the countless pigeons in the square.
She was remiss to feign a vapor
Pretending to fall
yet he lifted
her up like a feather.
She was in his arms for the first time
and the ice melted between them
He was a musician and composer
He worked at the opera
He wrote her a lovely aria
just for her
she loved it above all else.
She listened now as it melted the time passed
So lovely so much how he felt for her.
O Mio Babbino Caro *
*The soprano touched her heart.
All his love was transcribed
in the heavenly music.
He became her lover and then her husband.
Years and years later
when they had|
grown old together.
and he departed
to the eternal place.
She moved back to Venice.
The same room where she first saw him.
Her room her life her destiny.
As an old lady
She would spend
the spring mornings
looking out of the same window
where he met her
in the Venice square.
And the music
he wrote for her would
play in her heart.
She knew that far away
In his illuminated heaven.
He could see her and would know
She was always his.

Sometimes love can absorb
all of the moisture
that is held in your heart.
leaving it dry like aged paper.
even a single spark can ignite it
and burn it to ashes.
the fires of the world
sense your dryness
the follow you everywhere.
even in sleep they wait outside
your windows ready to destroy.
Find a new person with ice blue
in their eyes and cool uncharted skin
hide your fear of sparks from them.
Never think or dream of fire again
even when it's acrid smoke
burns your eyes.

A schoolmasters life ..story by Jude kyrie
1919  chipping Sodbury England

Grenville school for young Englishmen

The bell for evensong rang out
It was seven o'clock the boys would be
Going to the school chapel he wanted to see them.
He was so old where had all the time passed.
He remembered it was 1876 he was such a young
Man so full of dreams and possibilities.
His days at a schoolmaster at Grenville school for boys
had begun.

He knew he was a shy stodgy schoolmaster going unnoticed.
No promotions just the same grade.
Then a miracle happened
Grace found him
he did not mean a gift of faith
He always has that of course.

If was the most stunning lady he had ever seen.
He was at the train station at Chippingham Wold
The fog had set in and the trains were delayed...
He sat in the waiting room and she was there.
Her smile lit up the room.

I did not have the skills to enchant the fairer ***
Only the words of masters like Chaucer and Shakespeare.
She said would you like to join me for a tea and scones
She withdrew a flask of sweet tea and gave me one of her scones.

We talked for hours in the deep fog that kept us there overnight.
She said thank you for keeping me safe overnight
I was quite afraid, he thought she did not look afraid.
The train arrives to take us to Chipping Sodbury.

As we exited the train
she slipped me her address
on her scented card that
Was perfumed with gardenias.
I still have it even in my eighties
I had fallen for her you see.
But who would not have?

I picked up my courage from my boots
And knocked on her door.
We married six months later.
I have never been as happy before or since.
The next five years were heaven she charmed the
School committee and all the boys

They loved her
well almost as much as I did you see.
She  kissed me at the door after the cricket match
We beat you Turnberry Wells by seven runs
I was pink with excitement.
We are having a child she said.
I wept with joy.

Then when the labor came she had eclampsia
And the labor was very hard
After many hours the doctor came down
From the bedroom.
I looked up
He shook his head.
And the child I whispered.
His sad eyes cell to the ground.

I never married again
How could I,
I had drunk from the cup of perfection.

1914
The great war came
At evensong, I read the names of my fallen boys
William's, Burns, Sands Rene And  Colley
Who received a posthumous Victoria Cross
For pulling his wounded Batman from the line of fire
In a failed charge upon the German trenches.

The tears fell from my eyes as their faces
Appeared as the boys I loved.
The war tumbled to an end
and the sons of the fallen came back
As young boys to Grenville

I was old and headmaster of that sainted school.
The roll call of the new boys announced their names.
William's sir, Burns sir, Coley sir
I taught your father's I said softly.

Then the years rolled by
I was lay on my deathbed nearly ninety now
I heard two of the young masters outside my door.
The old man is dying
He lost his wife years ago you know.
Never had any children its such a shame.

As the light faded into my eyes.
I whispered.
but that's not true
I had a thousand children
And they were all boys.

1904 chipping Sodbury England
Grenville school for young Englishmen


*The bell for evensong rang out
It was seven o'clock the boys would be
Going to the school chapel he wanted to see them.
He was so old where had all the time passed.
He remembered it was 1876 he was such a young
Man so full of dreams and possibly.
His days at a schoolmaster at Grenville school for boys
had began.
He knew he was a shy stodgy schoolmaster going unnoticed.
No promotions just the same grade.
Then a miracle happened
Grace found him he did not mean a gift of faith
He always has that of course.
If was the most stunning lady he had ever seen.
He was at the train station at Chippingham Wold
The fog had set in and the trains were delayed..
He sat in the waiting room and she was there.
Her smile lit up the room.
I did not have the skills to enchant the fairer ***
Only the words of masters like Chaucer and Shakespeare.
She said would you like to join me for a tea and scones
She withdrew a flask of sweet tea and gave me one of her scones.
We talked for hours in the deep fog that kept us there overnight.
She said thank you for keeping me safe overnight
I was quite afraid she did not look afraid.
The train arrive to take us to chipping sodbury.
As we exited the train she slipped me her address on her scented card that
Was perfumed with gardenias.
I still have it even in my eighties
I had fallen for her you see.
But who would not have.
I picked up my courage from my boots
And knocked on her door.
We married six months later.
I have never been as happy before or since.
The next five years were heaven she charmed the
School committee and all the boys
They loved her well almost as much as I did you see.
She  kissed me at the door after the cricket match
We beat you turnberry wells by seven runs
I was pink with excitement.
We are having a child she said.
I wept in joy
Then when the labor came she had eclampsia
And the labor was hard
After many hours the doctor came down
From the bedroom.
I looked up
He shook his head.
And the child I mumbled.
His sad eyes cell to the ground.
I never married again
How could I I had drank from the cup of perfection.
The great war came
At evensong I read the names of my fallen boys
William's burns sands Rene And  colley
Who received a posthumous Victoria cross
For pulling his wounded Batman from the line of fire
In a failed charge upon the German trenches.
The tears fell from my eyes as their faces
Appeared as the boys I loved.
The war tumbled to an end and the sons of the fallen came back
As young boys to Grenville
I was old and headmaster of that sainted school.
Roll call of the new boys
William's sir burns sir coley sir
I taught your father's I said softly.
Then the years rolled by
I was lay in my death bed nearly ninety now
I heard two of the young masters outside my door.
The old man is dying
He lost his wife years ago
Never had any children it such a shame.
I said but that's not true
I had a thousand children
And they were all boys.

A Sentimental Journey Home

Sunlight slanting in the pane
and Lighting up the floor.
Ivy creeping to the roof
Just like it did before.

At the fence the stately pine
almost reaches to the skies.
A mourning willow sways to and fro
beneath its thousand sighs.

Along the pathway flowers grow
As every year they do:
forget  me nots catch morning dew
like tears in their eyes of blue.

A familiar place yet not the same.
The stone has darker grown
And Lichen covers the gabled roof
since I was still at home.

We have changed these passing years
yet here I am once more.
With only echoes ever calling me
From sweet voices of before.

Within my sweetest memory
The sounds of long ago
are calling to me gently
as they whisper oh so low.

The voices fade with shadows dark
inside the broken door
And my tears are seeing what has been
That haunts me evermore.

The blue sky pales in fading light
the moon moves oceans with invisible might
in space a telescopes clearest view
sees an unknown Galaxy of red and blue
spaceship earth circles the sun one more time
in the dawn light her beauty begins to shine.

Saying goodbye is never painless.
But today closing up her old house.
Where I spent my childhood so long ago.
It is dragging me into the doldrums.
Each room full of her sweet life.
I find her books her souvenir box.
Locks of her children’s hair.
Christening medals.
I go into my boyhood bedroom
For the last time.
It still contains my magazines
and a book I read as a child.
The box in mom’s room is
full of her clothes.
Ready for the Goodwill.
Then I packed the last of the
old familiar dishes in the kichen.
Solid stoneware that carried
my sustenance for all my younger life.
In the back of the cupboard
Moms china cup and saucer
With English roses on it.
The one she used to  
drink her morning
tea in all of her life.
On the rim a single tea leaf remained.
That had once touched her lips.
That was when the grief hit me
Like never before.

A single tea leaf from China
By
Jude Kyrie.

*A tea leaf from China is all it took.
I cleared the house of all her things
In her room her glasses and an  open book.

In my old room a final look
So full with memories that life brings
A tea leaf from China is all it took.

The tables gone from the kitchen nook
With the vase that bloomed in a far off spring.
In her room her glasses and an  open book.

In the kitchen cupboard a rose china cup
A single tea leaf on its rim my tears it brings
A tea leaf from China is all it took

I  see her drinking from her favorite cup
Her quiet time away from family things
In her room her glasses and an open book.

Thats when the grief  hit me dark as soot
Her lips had touched this tiny thing.
a tea leaf from China is all it took.

I see her planning her meals to cook
You are my children you darling things.
A tea leaf from China is all it took
In her room her glasses and an open book.

They walked on the snow
covered city sidewalk
An old couple slowly gaited
and unsure of their foothold.
He stopped under
the the old streetlamp.
holding her gently.

Looking into her grey eyes
still beautiful
untouched by the ravages of time.
Do you remember? my love.
You smiled at me here so long ago.
so very long ago under this very lamp.

Her face lightened a smile flickered
“yes my darling I remember”.
The years fell as leaves in the fall
and the icy world melted
in their moment of warmth.

He pulled her close to him
Her body no longer old and frail
He felt the woman inside her
the one he had loved forever.

I think of you in my dreams he said
join me my love.
You are wearing a summer dress
holding a single white rose I brought you.

The music in the café plays a waltz.
It swells and halts and ladies
sit in red gilded chairs sipping coffee.

The summer breeze
of love blows into this room
Your smile again enraptures my heart.
Your eyes darken as they find mine,
filling me with yet unfulfilled promises.

We are drowning in the melody about us
the music takes our hearts and
shines them as the sunlight.
Just the single pure white rose
cupped in your hands.

She smiled in memory
Her visions sharing his
even after this lifetime together.

"It is strange how one single day
and a white rose.
can make lifetime lovers
from just friends."
she whispered

A single White Rose

They walked on the snow covered city sidewalk
An old couple slowly gaited and unsure of their foothold.
He stopped under the the old streetlamp
holding her gently to him in an embrace.
Looking into her grey eyes still beautiful
untouched by the ravages of time.
Do you remember? my love.
You smiled at me here so long ago.
so very long ago under this very lamp.
Her face lightened a smile flickered
“yes my darling I remember”.
The years fell as leaves in the fall
and the icy world melted
in their moment of warmth.
He pulled her closer to him
Her body no longer old and frail
He felt the great woman inside her
the one he had loved forever.
I think of you in my dreams join me my love.
she smiled as he drifted to bygone years.
You are wearing a summer dress
holding a single white rose I brought you.
The music in the café plays a waltz.
It swells and halts and ladies
sit in red gilded chairs sipping coffee.
The summer breeze
of love blows into this room
Your smile again enraptures my heart.
Your eyes darken as they find mine,
filling me with yet unfulfilled promises.
We are drowning in the melody about us
the music takes our hearts and
shines them as the sunlight.
Just the single pure white rose
cupped in your hands.
She smiled in memory
Her visions sharing his

even after this lifetime together.
"It is strange how one day
and a single white rose
can make lifetime lovers
from just friends."
she whispered.

A Love Poem
From
Jude Kyrie

They walked on the snow covered city sidewalk.
An old couple with slowing gait and unsure of their foothold.
He stopped under the streetlamp
holding her gently close to his heart.

Looking into her gray eyes still beautiful
untouched by the ravages of time
from so many long years.
Do you remember, my love?
You smiled at me here so long ago.
so very long ago under this very lamp.

Her face lightened a smile flickered
“yes, my darling I remember”.
The years fell away as leaves in the fall
and the icy world melted
in their moment of tender warmth.

He pulled her close to him.
Her body no longer old and frail.
He felt the strong woman inside her
the one he had loved forever.

I think of you in my dreams he whispered
join me in them my love.
You are wearing a summer dress
holding the single white rose
I brought for you.

The music in the café plays a waltz.
It swells and halts and ladies
sit in red gilded chairs sipping coffee.
The summer breezes the fragrance
of love into this room

Your smile once again enraptures my heart.
Your eyes darken as they find mine,
filling me with yet unfulfilled promises.
We are drowning in the melody about us
the music takes our hearts and
shines them as the sunlight on dewdrops.
Just the single pure white rose
cupped in your hands.

She smiled at the old memory
Her visions sharing his dream.
Even after this lifetime together.

"It is strange how one day
and a single white rose
can make lifetime lovers
from just friends."
she whispered.

A small flirtation

*It was just a small flirtation
Just passind her time away
After all a pretty girl
Must while away her day.

She was promised to another
he was so handsome and so dear
But why should she be alone
when so many men so near

He chatted on the telephone
Talked of movies that they saw
She wanted him for his company
He wanted her for something more

They walked out under moonlight
She laughed without a care
He told her she was lovely
And how he loved her hair

It was just a small flirtation
But she heard that he was dead
Drowned down in the river
The day that she was wed.

She had flirted with the boy
Somehow his heart got broke.
She was the one who broke it
But of that she never spoke.

A small Assignation

It was just a small flirtation
Just passing the time away
After all a pretty girl
Must while away her day

She was promised to another
So handsome and so dear
But why should she be alone
With so many men so near

They chatted on the telephone
Talked of movies that they saw
She wanted him for his company
He wanted her for something more

They walked out under moonlight
She laughed without a care
He told her she was lovely
And how he loved her hair

It was just a small flirtation
She heard that he was dead
Drowned up in the river
The day that she was wed

She had flirted with the enemy
Somehow his heart got broke
She was the one who broke it
But of that she never spoke

As My Love Lies Sleeping
by
Jude Kyrie

Sleep sweetly love and Hushabye .
I will bring you my  lullaby
In my arms lay so gentle and sweet
Bringing comfort as my love falls asleep.
The world is in the turmoil of the madmen’s cry.
But not in our moonlight not even a sigh.
Memories that fill my heart with your kiss
Until morning will cover our bodies with bliss.
As the moonlight succumbs to the morning light.
My arms will carry you safe through the night.
The entire rude world that lives in the day
has faded to shadows as in my arms you do lay.
Moonlight it drifts around your sleeping head
Safe and warm forever in our blessed bed.
My heart is silently shouting my love in a loud cry
Beheld by you beauty in my lullaby

You are as undecided as a snowfall
In deepest winter
Sometimes you are a grey day
or sunny yet freezing
In a cloudless sky.
But I think I love you most
When you are an unexpected snowfall
My soul feels purified
by the cleansing whiteness of you.
A world that is war torn jaded
and in turmoil
takes a moment of respite.
And I am but malleable in your hands.
Forgetting sadness and strife.
drowning in warm tropical blue oceans.
I shall never know your changes.
But I don’t need to understand them
Just don’t ever lose your snowfalls
Because that may break my heart.

AS THE BOMBS FELL A CHILD IS BORN.
A TRUE STORY
BY JUDE KYRIE

The night I was born the air was filled with the acrid odors of cordite and fire. Even the charred blossoms of the out of place cherry tree in the dark inner city gadens lost their sweet fragrance,
It was 1942 the war raged on like the four horsemen wanted it too.
Bombers of the Luftwaffe decided to obliterate our home at that moment.
Manchester was on fire and my first breaths were made of its deadly acrid smoke.
Inside the small row house beneath its humble living quarters we were sheltered under the cellar stairs.
My heavily pregnant mother and three older sisters clung to each other tightly as the roar of hate and violence crescendoed above the small house.
Somehow even in the darkened days of hopeless war I had been conceived in defiance of all the  hate a small flickering candle of love burning brightly in the darkness.
Missing from the house were my six older brothers who were away fighting in distant lands in the royal marines.
Also missing , my father who had served his country in the first world war. Now he walked in the darkened blackout of a Manchester on fire.
His job to watch for injured people he was  now too old to serve in any other way.
The bomb whistled as It fell from the sky its whining harbinger of death and destruction a precursor to its death knell of explosion a few moments later.
A cat oblivious to war and destruction watched the scene from beneath a stoop. The fires from the detonated TNT reflected in its wide green eyes.
The sound of our best friend the very air that we breathe to live being compressed into a weapon that would try to destroy us.
the blast wall of compression hit the structure of our house causing the supporting walls to fall inward and slowly to bury us alive in our cellar refuge,

My father at that very moment stood in front of the old catholic church of which he was a member with nine children as proof and soon to be ten.
The nave was on fire even gods house was not spared this night.

Father O'Brien appeared at the door of his beloved church in his arms in a long white smock was his altar boy he did not move nor would he ever again.
Tears flowed down the face of the old Irish priest. God has forsaken us Frank he cried to my father.

And together they walked in the mayhem of war.
As they reached our street my father saw his house destroyed and
His heart sank the priest last lament ringing in his ears.
A crowd of neighbours were pulling at the rubble. Mixed with plaster bricks a broken dish, a picture, a *** now so dented almost unrecognizable.
For hours they pulled and worked to reach the cellar.then finally they got there.
Under the cellar steps inside the gloom of blackened night we were all there covered in dirt and grime. Yet alive in defiance of the grim reaper increased by one more,
my mother held me to her breast to nurture her new child her seventh son.

My father wept as we were lifted out one by one.
He held me close to his heart covering me with his coat.
My mother kissed him and said
Oh Frank we have lost everything.
He touched her hair softly and said.
That's not true Mary love,
I just found everything I ever wanted.

across the yard a cat sat watching the fires in its eyes extinguished
and the scene of a happy reunion reflected in its place with the promise of happier times to come.

I know I stand below the shadow of your beauty
I know the line that awaits your favors is long.
But I stand and  there I remain.
To you in your starry tower
Your loveliness is ordinary.
But to me it floods my heart with grace.

Let your hair fall for me.
As you would for a lover.
Hear the songs that my desperate heart sings.
Ignore my lonely failings for I shall repent them.
To share a moment in your eyes.

Loosen your gossamer gown
As you would for a lover.
Feel the need of my want.
Breathe the fires of my passion.
Take this burning from my heart.

Lie beside me in the moon's light
As you would for a lover.
Feed on me until hunger turns to greed.
Drain the soul from my body.
And take the loneliness from my heart.
As you would for a lover…..
As you would for a lover.

You awoke with me in the mornings
With passions raging deep.
You used just the man I am
I paid homage at your feet.
You're All I need my other twin
My Achilles heel my mortal sin.
You're all I drink and all I eat.
My love will live forever
A thousand fathoms deep

I loved you when you first unfold
like petals in the heat.
I loved you when my heart
was frozen cold.
Like a snowman in the street.
I love you with all
my blood that flows.
both waking and asleep.
My love will live forever
a thousand fathoms deep.

I know you had to leave me
I know you had to cheat.
You leave a trail of broken hearts.
Were only men we play our parts.
The stories not unique.
But did  you never understand
When I knelt and kissed your hand
My love will live forever
A thousand fathoms deep.

Now I am  living with the wine
Were dancing cheek to cheek.
The band is playing one more time.
But aching hearts don't sleep.
I know you don't need me now
You pass me in the street.
I'm drowning in a sea of love.
A thousand fathoms deep

I entered a domain where
Motherless daughters exist.
A place where her echoes lie.
The greyness of rain soaked
clouds fill the lungs with tears.
I try to weep to release the loss.
But she stops me with her strength.
The power she ingrained
into her daughter.
I feel her entering me.
My back stiffens and cheeks hollow.
She speaks though my tongue.
I am her and she is me.
I hear her mantra from the sickness.
When a mother is planted
So a daughter will bloom.

Have you ever been in  love?
I don't mean the teenage.
Infatuation years
We all suffered that.
I am talking the mid life crisis,
The is that all there is years.
Im talking  the two teenage kids
And a solid husband who is probably
Twice as unhappy as me
He's kind when I say.
No he understands.
but no passion no real love.

But I have a job for twenty years
I am the wedding planner
And events manager at the countryHotel..
If I say so myself I am good at it.
I bring the weddings here.
Day after day.

He was in the wedding party
I noticed him twenty years my junior
So arrogant
so beautiful
so handsome
so out of my. League

Why does youth need to look
so ******* beautiful?
I always watch the vows
at all my ceremonies.
They touch my soul.

I am forty four
Well preserved but if you look close
Behind my smile still forty four

The wedding flowed well
as all of my weddings do.

but I saw him
He was the saddest person in the room
at most he was 23
I am a romantic
An unashamed romantic.
I noticed his tears.
and wondered why.

Afterwards I found him drunk
by the elevator,
I held his head in my arms
And asked
Why so sad its a wedding?
He said I love her
but she chose my brother.

It's against hptel policy
But I helped him to his bed.
It touched me.
Me who runs a tight ship.
Me who has two teenage children.
And a. Husband who likes sports
More than me.

I still let my husband have me
about twice a week
When I am not too exhausted
from my job at the hotel.

The following week
eventually unravelled my life.
He came to work at the hotel
under me I was assigned as his boss.

I found him outside waiting for a bus
I don't know why I offered him a lift.
Perhaps his sadness
Or perhaps mine

As we reached his home
he still lived with his parents
I said cheer up
do something to excite me.
i was thinking tell me a joke or story.
He leaned forward to me.
With his long blonde hair
He Kissed my face
Then his lips kissed mine.
I Felt his passion
God how I missed that
Saturday night mommy
***** felt useless.

I tried to get him fired
he would ruin my life
i know he would.
Yet he was all I could think about.
and the thoughts were not motherly.
he had to go.

my boss said
no way he works very hard.
I gave him all the worst assignments
for two weeks but he did them
without complaint.
Then he turned to me
in my office when we were alone
and said I love you.
the blessed  words I ached
to hear so badly.

I said I am a married   woman
twenty years older than you
with two teenage children.
He said softly
you never mentioned
your husband.

Then as I realised the omission
He kissed me
***!
I was alive again
something hidden and deep
stirred in me.
Something raw
full of want and need
and yes a glow of
tenderness swept over me

I have a key to a room
I keep off limits at the hotel.
I said go to 279
I stripped off my clothes
And covered myself
with a sheet like s toga.

Hecame in and held me close.
I melted in need and desire
it burned like fire.
Me the take no prisoners boss lady.
I said to myself its only once
why not what's the damage.
hes so beautiful.

I had no idea
I had fallen in love with him
Such a mistake.
Where  can we end up I said.
44 and 23 just don't mix

Perhaps after.
He had his fill of a mature woman
that never says no.
He would move on
just a nice time
a nice experience.
for a young man.

What I did not count on
was my possessive nature
I hated the girls at the hotel
offering him free ***
I heard it all the time.
they did everything
but take their **** out,
I got so mad at him even
if it was not his fault.
He was so
beautiful and Young.

I took him to my room every day
I stripped for him and he looked at me
with heated want in his eyes.
And he took me like an Ardent lover.
And I gave myself to him
anything he wanted he got.
i had lost the word no
from my lexicon.

My Husband found out
He watched me leave
with him And knew my.
False excuses for my late arrival
home were lies.

I told him I was in love
The  whole family turned on me..
I went to my lover
he still lived at.
His mother and fathers home
They were out for the day
We made love as always but
He said you are not with me today..
noticing my preoccupation
with my troubled marriage.

His parents came home unexpectedly
And saw me half dressed
on the stairway.
perhaps
More importantly
Almost wice his age.

yet his mother smiled at me
and said you are reason he is so happy
thank you he has been in a depression
for two years ever since his girl
chose his.brother to love.
i thought he would never .be happy again.

I-tried to fix my original home life
It did not work.when
you have tasted ambrosia
Meat and potatoes just don't cut it.
He was desolate without me
how can anyone feel like that?
About me for gods sake?
And I was broken without him.

I went to his house
signaling to my  family
I was  ending my marriage
I found him drunk
Crying on the floor.
like at the wedding when I met him.
but this time he weeping over me.

I said why do you want me so bad?
you can have have
any young and pretty ladies
of your own age.

He held me close
Right to his chest.
I could feel his heart beating
through my breast.

And he whispered
almost in a primeval sob.

He gave me the only answer
that made any sense.at all.

Because I love you honey
and there is no one  else
in this world for me.*

the beginning
Jude