In the midst of regal red
Orange flaming like a ****
It sneaks out
Euphonious as rain on a pond
Mellow sunlight,  warm days
Cool not chilly nights
Roses bloom anew
Nature takes a breath and sighs
The second Spring holds back;
the tears of time

You big bloated orange moon
Hanging there in this heavy air
You have stolen summer
Eaten it right up and laughed

You have opened the night for lovers
You have burped out a sigh
A wiff of smoke; camp fires burn low
Eager for what lies ahead...I dread

After the regal colors of Autumn
Snow will chill my bones
So, gloat now you blighted orb
I will laugh a pumpkin laugh alas...

I went to sleep in a slipstream
Woke to a world gone mad
Red ran like a river down barren streets
All was upside down
The sky was a seamless grey
People were black and white
Lost in an old time movie
The sight filled me with fright

I heard a hideous laughter
A one eyed magician poked me straight
Pick a card, he said
Pick a card or forever exist in exile
before it is all too late...

We drown in fragrant fluids
of the flesh
A gasp...A sigh...The little death
A silent hand strokes back our breath

No longer strangers...eye to eye
Our limbs entwined
A moment longer
And then...

Shameless moon
blind white
motionless climbs
above a sleeve-worn stone

Limb by naked limb
night -entangled trees
release queer shadows
on bare bone
distorting memory
and the tainted foliage



KMC @ 2011

My ashes will hold my destiny;
nestled in a cool dark vase
tossed out to sea
I will not pass into nothingness
but a sweet sleep
sailing the ocean of death
whipped cream waves
will lick my cheeks
Remember me as a crystal
in the snow
Remember me as sunlight
on golden grain
Feel me in the autumn rains
I have cast off an over-coat
of clay
Remember the beauty
of our summer days
See me in twilight
where we played
The beauty of the flesh
vanishes but is destined
for memory
I will look at you again
Toss my ashes to the winds
And remember me!

Out of the dark shadows
a night bird shrieks

The howl of the lost
and forgotten
   chatters the green monkey

The man with a red guitar
dances in the Mexican heat

Discordant broken strings
of music
   fill the desolute night

The shreik of the green monkey
murders the soul...

What beauty a summer sun
does bring
It serves us;
our eternal center
Words ignite its radiance
What is true of the sun
is true of the soul
An invisible element
made visible in life
We see what we want to see
If rarified beauty is
our vision
perpetual summer will glow
through us; lest like Icarus
as a golden winged bird
rising higher and higher
to escape
closer and closer to the sun
melting wings
falling into the sea
and death...

It was the summer of
a shower of stars.
Vermillion plums,
voluptuous fruit
hanging low on branches.
Fire-red geraniums;
bouganvillea cascading down.
The earth was humid,
heat waves rose up like
a boiling sea.
Full moon's bright stare
ignites strange shapes
   in our garden.
Shadows that move like
   mating snakes.
A burst of stars
fall to earth;
little fishes invade the beach
then vanish into
a silver sea.

KMC@2011

Wind distresses wood and window pane

Soundless damage in the shade of

stationary identity

Now, artificial names blow in the breeze

Where lush fields bloomed from wild seed

Memories plague my ears like bees

The meadows have been stolen away

A highway molests the scenery

And I taste the grief

My past ruined by washed identities

The scars have healed

Sealed off as far as eye can see

No shacks or desolate abandonment:

Romantic stops or medieval Fairs

The Age of Steel and Machine

has burst the attic of my dreams

A crown of daisies on the dresser

Reflection of our joyous past

Bewilderment in your dear blue eyes

now blurred by pain...

I caress your feverish brow and smile

as I always have...

Let go...let the silent sleep still your pain

Memory keeps you close to me

Your laughter like bells rings in my ears

Your special glow still lingers

Sleep now my friend...

Embrace the great love in eternal grace

Cherry blossoms
Infatuation is fleeting
Blossoms fly with the wind


Barren budding trees
The funeral is over
Snow is melting

The sun is like a blood stained egg yolk

The world gone mad

deranged with grief

Sheltered by the solid oak

I cry my heart into my throat

I cannot breath

A wind came with thunder

in the trees

The dust is choking me

I begin to bleed

My hands stung by nettles

My feet caught in  thistles

Nature gone mad before my eyes

Is this the way we intend to die?

KMCOLBY@20111



Read more: http://authspot.com/poetry/the-sun-is-like-a-blood-stained-egg/#ixzz1DroEzGUE

Someone left me a *** of marigolds

on my white porch floor

Afraid to pick them up

I left them near the door

The paper boy knocked them over

dirt spilled out on the wood

The mailman stepped in the dirt

and smeared it as he should

I righted the *** and saw it was dry

then left it in the afternoon sun

and the vermilion sky

Days went by and the preacher called

He asked about the plant

I shrugged my shoulders and took

his pamphlets fast

No one ever told me where those

marigolds came from

I assumed it was the devil

as he was the only one

Who knew I killed my husband

and I would go to jail

A trial would condemn me

they would hang me

by a nail

If you receive such a ***

know your time has come

Leave the marigolds where

they are to die

Giving you time to just go on.....

Oh! restless soul you sail on salty breezes

rest on rocky shores

Speak to me?

Let me know you hear my voice



A waft of licorice stirs my memory

Childhood stands tall

like a tin soldier

Is that where you are?



In the incestuous wasteland

of a child's bedroom

I lost you

Lost you to shame



I search diligently for you

as you float

among gravestones

and dance with the ghosts



I seek you in the dark

in the light

in the church and the street

I cry out for you



Sadly, like a child

with the dim recall of a

lost ice cream cone

melting in the gutter...

Lamp light glows through drops of resin

Trapped life in heavy honey

Honey  that flowed from ancient trees


Your pale finger touches the smooth

surface of soft stone


Eons of treasure in cased in sap;

into our brief tomorrows

you wear these  fragil jewels...



The drops of resin like you

preserved forever in a beautiful

magic from the past...Rarefied

It is 1943 and the world has ended as we once knew it.

I drive you to the air strip in the rain.

Purple dusky shadows slide across the strip.

I am wearing strong leather shoes with ties.

I am hoping they hold me stable.

We get out and walk towards the waiting plane.

I look back at our sturdy little Studebaker.

It pales next to the plane.

A waft of chanel rises from my neck.

Do you smell it?

We climb the ramp, you holding your luggage.

We look at each other. What do we say now?

"There will always be Portland?"

Who ever heard of the small West Coast town?

You are covered in uniform. I desperately try

to get my green leather gloves off.

I look at the small emerald ring.

At least I have something.

I want to touch your face but you scare me.

Your air force uniform and hat are so intimidating.

I hear the engines; the propellers start to turn.

A gust of air hits me and my hair is tangled.

Are you going to kiss me? Or, do I kiss you?

Stupid. Why don't we speak?

War is unreal. But, I'm going to work in a shipyard.

We already have black outs. Fear has a distinctive odor.

At least I'm not pregnant. So many women are.

They are counting on America. America is young

and full of grit and  bravery and heroism.

You touch me. You are going. You kiss my cheek.

I recoil like I was slapped. Your face turns ashen.

You disappears inside the plane. I hurry done the ramp.

I hurry to our car: your car. I sit in the old brown seat.

and wait. The plane takes off. Up into a misty darkness.

I expect it to explode. I turn the ring around and around

on my finger till it hurts. I finally feel something. Pain.

I start the car and head towards the highway.

Traveling down the road I begin to relax and suddenly

I feel relief. It is over and I will go back to life again.

And you are flying into death....

We wait for the rain to flatten loves blossoms.

The frail liquid that runs down our cheeks.

The ravens oily feathers slick with rain.

The sheets on the line sagging downward.

We turn our faces upwards and open our lips.

Rain tastes of love now and over...

Holding each other as if the world is ending.

Because we know in our tangled dreams

And nightmares it really is...

Will the rain stop beating down as our hearts?

Will the birds lie unburied?

We  kiss in desperation and frustration.

Shivering in the mist that rises and the vines

that coil around our bodies.

A sparrow flies out of your mouth.

The vines grow tighter.

The rain has stopped and all that's left

is a dreadful silence.

Our world has ended.

Birds were the last surviving dinosaurs.

It is the things we don't speak about
the lies we hide in silence
Petrified trees of ice like our
frozen souls
Truth comes bursting
with an orange glory
The veil of discontent
revealed in the sun

The road is long my friend, my friend

Longer still until the end

It makes us ***** and sadness filled

Each time we try to climb that hill

We stumble in ruts that stab our souls

We look for light but darkness fills

All the places our hearts desire

Angry we feel full of fire

If only a kind hand would extend

And help us climb towards the end....

I am with the crazy ladies

who sit giggling in the loony bin.

We pick at our skin, our clothes;

we wiggle and yawn.

Heads wobble, jaws drop

tongues dart in and out

green canvas slippers cover

our toes.

Know this! I don't belong here.

Waiting for the pill cart

after eating prunes.

We shuffle back to our sterile

blue rooms.

I crawl on the floor.

My tiny ******* are sore.

I think a lot about death.

Someone shouts, "Get up, you're a mess."

I am the duchess of death.

They should beware.

I was a sleep-monger once.

Queen of a pill condition;

planting bombs in my brain.

They will transform me here.

Not before I get to the ****** Islands.

Where I will take off all my clothes

and paste prunes on my *******.

What news do you have about

the last twelve weeks?

Hurry up! I'll be leaving soon.

You smell of sea salt

and the sea an evil green

your lips are cold

i look out the window

rain blinds me

fog rises from the brine

of ghosts

dead sailors

lost souls

lies

i do not dare look

at you

seaweed wraps around

your neck

snakes slither

out your mouth

a sailor of intrigue

deception

i pull the woolen

tight to my stone

body dead womb

freezing

the bed is rising

i am floating

towards

death

death of love

the worst death

wear your casket

sailor suit

wear it back into the

fog and sea

i won't hear

from you

you will be dead

alive somewhere

with someone

not me

i will strangle

the pain

and let my womb

bleed

i will bathe it in

sea water

and spit out the

lies

into night

and fog and sea

I watched you

many times

eating an orange

in the shade of the cypress trees

beside the freeway

in the tall wet grass

I watched you

carefully peel the orange

skin

dropping the peels

in a little sack

How tidy yet unpretentious

you are

I watched you plump

each orange slice

into your pouting mouth

I could see your face

savor the **** yet sweet

juicy orange liquid briefly

touch your lips and

your small darting tongue

lick it away

You savor the orange

like a primal ritual as

you brush your blond hair

away from your face

Satisfied you put your garbage sack

in your satchel

and slyly glide out into the

blazing sun hair gleaming

bright colored skirt swaying

A secret smile on your

beautiful face

I will watch you

as many times

as many times as

you bring an orange

to this place

I will watch you

always

Out of summer linen

the pale scent of roses

rises

like your red hair

rising from the azure sea

Your skin the color of linen

waiting on the old bed

waiting for the afternoon

the siesta

the swoon

While the scent of roses

rises

from your linen flesh

Pink succulent

slightly warm

A cool breeze touches

the gauze curtains

Licks the salt on

your skin

Snatches your scent

carrying it on a wanton wind

back out to sea

i waited for the sun

only grey shadow played

across the lawn and stray dog toy

i waited to see your shadow

shade me from a sun

hidden behind a black cloud

the dog is dead

the dog toy should be thrown

away and i

should leave this place

of memory and you

summer picnics dog barking

sun beating on pale skin

you weaving your hands

on my back with lotion

and the kiss swift and taunting

the laughter running

to the bright white sand

blinding and ocean blue

as blueberries

i should leave as i feel rain

coming coming to this place

where the sun

has forgotten to shine

i should take the dog toy

to spare it from the

rain

i should leave

i should leave now

you are

a dark thing

between shadow and light

hidden

till i find you

fresh earthy fragrance

your cold hand on

my chest

in sleep

you live darkly

in my slumber

as a blue vapor hovers

in the room

you will dissolve

as the dark blood

leaves my

memory

drained of breath

till you cease to be

or we finally

burn together

I came here to die

or write the truth

They left me behind

the car with no roof

I have little water

my throat so dry

Pen and pencil

can't sketch this sky

There is no sky here

only a white sheet

I smell summer linen

a snake at my feet

It's all curled up and

looking dead

All but its poisonous

little head

Red tongue flicks out

i feel the sting

Finally able to sit

and write this thing

Waves of heat rise

before my eyes

I'm going blind

before i die

Now this thing will

not get written

The desert got me

and i am smitten

Your coin colored eyes

were a disguise

Shiny bright and almost new

My eyes would turn away

from you

The glare of surf and sand

waves of rising fog

Created a mirage as

you blinded me

and took my hand

You lead me down the

lonely beach

To a place where no one

speaks

I looked into your eyes

at last

And found my sight

my voice

my dance

I started to cry

beneath our old willow

tree

Those tender thoughts

of you and me

So many years

have come and gone

The love we shared

burnished by sun

Jumping off the old

wood pier

Wet kisses before

we got to shore

You gave me a ring

it made my finger black

I carry that ring still

in a sack

They told me you'd

died

in some crazy war

No matter the memories

I still want to store

I stand alone under

the old willow tree

I remember your love

and it sets me free...

Love conquers all

under this tree

The signs ignored

in apathy and guilt

Death receives a special invitation to

the dance of mindless violence

Sound is red with blood

a single sigh translates

pain of dying hope

Hearts pound like ocean waves

in a storm

The body frail

in the face of gun, knife or bomb

Only the soul survives

the ravages of chaos and death

While, time the thief

steals memory

Minds pale in grief

in an unshaven darkness

of impending horror...

Darkness falls like

a drop cloth

Colors are gone

hidden

In the corner

sits a cat

It is purring

The cat likes darkness

A broom is lifted

by a silent hand

The colors come

bursting red, orange, hell

The cat snarls

disturbed

mean

A shaft of light strikes the

floor

All goes up in flames

Dust on the mirror distorts my face

Yellow sun slithers across the floor

Long since have I been to this place

I will come here no more

Sheets cover the furniture

Dried brown roses resist gravity

A petal here and there

The facet in the sink is dripping

No concern have I anymore

You cleaned the kitchen spotless

Thinking I might come by

That was snowy months ago

Now rain beats on the panes

I always wanted shutters

I thought you felt the same

Our love making was stale at the start

It finished with lots of blame

We seemed so compatible

Please don't ask me why

I spy my old umbrella

Leaning against a chair

I pick it up and turn around

Shrugging at this mundane affair

I put the key in the mailbox

A weight lifts off my brain

In another month, my dear

I won't remember your name

The wind whispers softly

leaving shadows in my mind

Once in desperate fury she left

boundless debris behind

The withered holly berries like

an old man's weathered face

While the milk has spoiled

unfit for pudding cake

Winter roses from the garden

fall limp

a tarnished gold

The wastebasket full of things

I  never should have sold

I mean to leave this place

Put it far out of my mind

Yet, those shadows cling

to inner places wasting

all my time

I crush the roses flat

one by bleeding one



You never planned on coming back

to make this place our fun



The wind she's in a fury

pulling branches from the trees

This seems to be what's missing

And what those shadows need

I glance outside at winter

Sadness pulls the shadows back

It lets me hold last moments

To see what's left behind

No love, no cheer, no pudding cake

I must have lost my mind

I grab my coat and cap

And grind  holly into chime

I open the door to face the storm

Feeling strangely out of time

There you stand

staring straight at me

With shadows in your eyes

Dusk

Winter fog slips

Silently

Trees rise as dark

Sentinels

The road is

Shortened

The intersection seems

Too hazy

Notice the dead

Gray rabbit

***** paws up on the

Curb

Pass this silent

Symbol

Cross over to the

Houses

Amber lanterns glow

Hazily

That familiar dusk

Has fallen

The amber dusk of

Long ago

Warm memories of amber lights

In fogs damp chill

You have to shiver while

Strangers peek out  of their

Windows

Snug warm people

They didn't see the

Rabbit

You must go back

Yesterdays memories

Warm to the bone

The rabbit needs to be

Buried

Somewhere in the deep dark

Woods

The first sign...

A flock of ravens hurling

Down to the dirt

Small black bodies broken

The second sign

Silence

The third sign

All the bees disappeared

The fourth sign

The frantic beating of wings

The fifth sign

All the fields of harvest flamed

Fire red

The sixth sign

The sky turned black as coal

The seventh and last sign

Was death

Then a dreadful silence

No one saw the signs...

Ravens circle in the sky above

Dark images cast upon the snow

I sit on a cold bench in the garden

Waiting

Snow falls like white dust

He said he would be here

In this garden of thorns and rose hips

This garden of skeleton sticks

And blood red berries

Tassels on my wool cap from Finland

Sway in the icy wind

A grey heavy sky above

Ravens dive towards the sea

Ominous signs

Waiting in this decaying garden

A very old man sits next to me

His white beard covered with snow

He isn't coming, the old man says

My body dead to words

Don't you know? the old one whispers

Don't you know?

Only a fool plays this game of mind

In all the piles of snow outside

A single movement

The black eye of the raven

Brittle days brief and dark

Blood flows thin

Burgundy to gin

Shallow yellow light

Barely penetrates

Curtains that separate

Reality

Prisoner of this dark world

Garden of wind and death

Pine trees crusted with snow

There is misery out there

Nothing is out there

Let the raven pluck

Out your eye

Is this game almost over

The mind is never satisfied

Love was betrayed in winter's stillness;

it withered under silent snow.

I stare out windows made of ice and

see the yard's gate half closed.

My frozen garden has lost its bloom;

a brown stained rose on the window sill

a reminder still.

While embers smolder in the hearth

a grey sky fosters surrender.

My banal deed is a sheet of ice,

touching it stings your fingers.

A bitter taste is in my mouth for

lies can never hold a love for long.

The tea kettle still hisses, steam curls

into the room of barren table, two empty chairs.

Excruciating is the heaviness in my chest.

Betrayal is the cowards way;

love is only for the brave,