I am an idea
But I'm just a nobody

Taken with a grain of salt
I cause you to pucker

As the electrolyte
Dehydrates
Your sense of reality
Its fabric
Ripples and waves
At my intrusion
Into the certainty
Of your world
Leaving behind ghastly
Spectres
Embattled within
A war they cannot win
Nor hope to escape
As my identity

Crushes the prominent
Ignorance

Which fears wisdom
Above all else

How can one year seem like ten?
Is love just a form of multiplication
Stacking seconds on top of minutes
To the point that each hour
Somehow violates the laws of time?
Or does the weight of our hearts
Bend the very fabric of time
Creating such gravity that our
Beats move like a wave throughout
The cosmos?

To the outside world we appear normal
Whereas the seemingly everlasting days
To them seem brief at best
For our love is anything but general
It is special to the extent
That the faster we move
The heavier we become
As we grow and learn together
Within the shared experiences
All contained within one year

365 days
8760 hours
525600 minutes
31536000 seconds
Of the special relativity
Between us and the cosmos

The Gods once sang hymns of Garland twined
Dancing nymphs steadily seducing Zeus’s mind
They sang about love, passion, and a woman scorned
For Hera, wife of Zeus, Hephaestus, his brother warned
“Aphrodite may be sweet, *****, and supple
But the two of you together will bring only trouble”
Brooding Zeus sulked, like the heroes of old
Alexander may be great but he will be BOLD

Ignoring the warning, to the glade he went
Sending a message with Mercury, his love he sent
Luna hung low over the trees that night
Fireflies flashing accenting the light
There she strode, Aphrodite the beautiful
Come here to meet Zeus, lord of the thunderbolt
“My king, with Mercury your words I read
Sweet nothings echo in my heart that bleeds
In wanting for you, I bellow the forge of my heart
My longing for you had me longing to depart”

Zeus rushed to his muse, his body filled with lust
Never stopping to consider he was betraying Hera’s trust
For the queen had played mighty Zeus, an illusion she wore
Aphrodite in image but in Hera her SCORN
Together they lay in lust passions raged
To feel his love again being all that she craved
Her moans turned to laughter, her plot complete
The nymphs turned to vines snaring his feet
“Hera, my love, do not be angered
My feelings for you were never endangered
I knew it was you from the very beginning
I was just simply curious to see the ending”

Hera wasn’t interested in any more of his lies
Like Uranus before him she would cut off his pride
Never again would he sire another *******
She would remain queen on Olympus from here on after
In celebration she cast the ******* down the mountain
Into a babbling spring where nymphs danced ’round a fountain
When suddenly an infant sprang from holy water deep
A boy was born immaculately complete
Raised by the dryad’s a man he grew
Through labors of love to prove his due

Ignorant of the boy, Hera jealously ruled Olympus
With Zeus crippled her power now limitless
Until a prophecy was issued by Apollo’s oracle
“A child born, he who is destined to wear the purple”
Worried, Hera sent Mercury down to Gaia’s shores
His mission to find the boy before he could wage his war
Too late he was, for once, he was too slow
The boy (now a man) was already in Olympus with his father in tow
“Hera, I’m here to claim my throne, father as my witness
From him I was born, a product of your sickness
Your husband you tricked, maimed, and usurped
That throne is mine and Olympus will never be yours
Then he called forth his first thunderbolt
Casting Hera into the void and ending her revolt

Freedom is an expression of want
The desire to move freely;
To speak your mind
But too often we find
A lacking in the base refrain
Of purpose and meaning
Behind the individual definition
That separates and divides
US from the animals
That creep and crawl
Along the earth
Never stopping to consider,
Even for a moment,
That the essence of being free
Is a function of OUR need

Only slaves forget liberty

Rotations devolve into fragmented parcels of unwavering fractals that disrupt and distort the epitome of this reality as it descends into the oblivion that is night absent the light of day to shine a ray upon a soul fresh with spirit and aspirations held prisoner amongst its comrades in arms as it struggles to assert it's rightful place in the night sky that is in itself a contradiction to the polarity of the void and its life of never ending twinkles flashing and dancing like droplets of rain bouncing off a brightly lit ballast as they fall into the steady orbit of atomic homeostasis

It escalated rapidly
Sending arcing sparks racing in different directions...
Between the whoosh and the whistle,
Shrill and omnipresent,
Was an anticipation
This emotion,
That permeated the sky
And all the stars that joined to observe the spectacle

As a distant hum began to echo out across the void,
The cold empty darkness,
Began to heat up,
Excited for the upcoming eruption of varying colors
That were sorely missed amongst the monotony
Of the blackest of spaces...

...All went Silent as the world expanded
In a bang it was announced that a star had given birth
Sending fireworks out into the cosmos to deliver the wonderful news
That a new generation had begotten a stellar nursery
Full of healthy little twinkles
Shining their light,
Because in the universe,
Even the dark is afraid of the dark

It was the rain to which I'd been waiting;
A palid clamor in the dark
An incessant pitter-pattering
Patterning of life's blood
Awash in the swirling gusts of a storm
Booming with menacing roar
To announce its presence
The purpose of which is to restore
Natures balance
Not unlike the cacophony which breeds
A humble tune,
Tuned to the key terror and awe
As it inspires new life to grow
In place of the old kaleidoscope
That has, to this date,
Shielded my eyes
From the renaissance
Of a world
Trapped in drought

A portal appeared
Thin line sheared
Ripping the world
As the end neared
For cataclysm came
Ragnarok Regained
The gods they fell
The mortals to blame
Thus darkness came
Descent into hell
Lightnings they strike
With storms that hail
Some devils do call
While others may fail
Yet heroes do rise
In light they shine
Rising at the moment
What fate defines
Ready to battle
To war they ride
A shout TO ARMS!
Their enemies do cry
Some may flee
And others do die
The devil had felled
A hero had rised
The day was won
Terra his bride

Beads of moisture settle at dew point
And coalesce into sparkling gems
Resting on vibrant green leaves
Resulting in an early morning menagerie
Of Christmas coated reflections
Refractive of the growing light
Into a kaleidoscope of life and nature
As drop by drop the shimmering beads fall
Down to the earth,
The start of it all

Sadly the clock ticks
And Old Man Time
Steals another breath
As a moment is captured
Frozen in time
Locked away
Just out of arms reach
We grasp
Losing touch with a second
So powerful
As to leave us breathless
Desperate
For just one more tock
One more kiss
As we say "I do"

As the diamonds fall
The night they fill
Threatening the darkness
The light their thrill
Seemingly endless
These stars do fall
Together they are balancing
The weight of it all
Harmoniously they plummet
Throughout the sky
Revealing the reason
That their heavens cry
Heedless of the night
These diamonds do shine
Moving ever toward
Their grand design
Broken and beaten
These stars be true
As the diamonds do fall
Ive fallen for you

I never understood the real meaning behind poetry and philosophy.

The former takes great meaning and condenses it by duration reduction; Compacting enormous information and emotion in just a few beautiful words.

The latter is the priors direct opposite, opposing condensation for elaboration to the grandest questions a mortal being could ask. It's defined as a love of wisdom but really it's just the wisdom we love.

Both portend to be a front of art and an artistic mind.

So it makes you question these opposites and the balance they bring?

If combined "what is the product" of poetry and philosophy?

I'll tell you,
It's Prophecy

The sand from the sandstone rubbed raw my skin
Baring the veins of a network of fluids
Guzzling and bubbling in an attempt to pump
Life to limb from heart to organize
The soul lost in between the functions of living
Breathing the life through eyes wide open
Finally seeing the world as path among enemies
Staving off the parasitic accoutrements
That weigh down a mind burdened by the incessant grinding
Of sand from the sandstone

The sweet emotion of forever
Lasts as long as the wind caresses
And buffets the soul on a cloudy day

The sweet emotion of never
Is the repetitive cast into a flowing torrent
Of a flooded river that masks the shore

The sweet emotion of together
Coalesces into a monsoon of parity
That is a parody of the rain that crys

Now or never
This sweet emotion
Will last forever

"There's no point in building sandcastles"
The old man said
As he gestured to the shore
"You see, they're too fragile
And aren't very durable
Unlike me they cant handle the years
Or even days
Against the crashing of the waves
The beating of the rain
Or the sting of the wind"
The wizened fellow was trembling
His hands shaking as if under some immense weight
"You wonder why I shake do you?"
He said, following my eyes
"I shake from experience
And rightly so
Because I learned a truth long ago;
I'm an earthquake
That no sandcastle can withstand"

Seamless we fray
Torn at the seems
Ripped to shreds
As love shears
Our minds
And hearts
Yet mere cuts
Do little to lacerate
The magnetism
That bonds two souls
Stronger than any rending
Splitting or slashing
Capable of separating
Or dividing
Our two hearts
From splicing

========================
Today my brain is addled
Fogged by memories
Forged in fire
Searing the madness
That quenches the sadness
Of a life absent control
And a love present in soul
Yet steam continues to rise
As my eyes struggle to focus
My vision of you is hardened
Into a sharpened blade
Given deadly purpose
For this reason
You tower above all others
Providing me the means
To erase my haze
Simultaneously
Illuminating the night
So we might wield the day
========================

From Publius

To Gaius



Gaius, how long have we worked together now?



Three, four years?



Are we not as friends, whose sweat salts the soil?

Whose blood still stains mine alter?

...

And mine yours?

...

Have you forgotten your oath?

As brothers have we not sacrificed for the work?



In shared turmoil we toiled with miniscule minutias,

Always working together to make solutions

From pesty problems.

...

Yet, since you hired Marcus you have been different;

...

The work once shared has now become mine own.

No longer do you seek success in teamwork,



Nay,



Languid you have become with the work;

Heavy have mine shoulders become as a result.



Marcus is a joke.

Sure, he makes a fine comrade

Suitable for long binges of wine and women,

But his intellectual capacity is found wanting.

...

A detriment to getting the job done.

...

Still, you insist upon toting him around,

Holding his hand like a little lost puppy

Whose eyes water with weeping greed,

For more and more favoritism and need.

While, I, sit here and continue the work;

I am here finishing what we started, Gaius:



My SWEAT

...

My BLOOD



Has never ceased to pour forth to the land,

While you reap the harvest, leaving bare kernels

For your so called 'friend' to pick at.

...

Scraps as a reward for rearing another bountiful crop.

...

While Marcus lounges in your atrium,

******* plump figs,

...

That I have grown,

...

Spending more time in the lavatorium,

Than tilling the soil or plucking and picking.



No, dear Gaius, you can have the work.

Enjoy it with your dear Marcus.

He'd make a great Antinous to your Hadrianus.

...

Together, may the gods see you buggered in failure.

...

For this, I will make an offering of frankincense and myrrh

As I set off for new fields and greener pastures

To ply my trade.



One that you will find wanted in the days and months

To come.

...

I've new fields to plow


Seeds to sow


Crops to reap


And seedlings to grow

...

Like them, dear Gaius, I will thrive under noonday sun,

While you will wilt with your work.



Without me.



Signed,

PERTINAX

Ashes of the Wake
==================================
I would like to tell you a story
Of a young man born with a power
To channel the sun

His name was Regan Noel
And he was born in the light
His destiny written prehumously

Foretold to end the destruction
And oppression
Of a tyranny called The Wake

Yet his ability was beyond control
He hurt those closest to him by proximity
Causing the prophets to denounce him

Fortunately for Regan
There was a saving grace
A solution to his madness

A drug or drink
Dulled his ability
Allowing him to think

As the war raged on
His vision cleared
He'd do anything to be a hero

So he stepped onto the field
To face The Wake
And free his people

In a blinding flash
His presence was known
Replacing evil with beauty

As the glare receded
Regan stood alone
His destiny complete

Later he announced
To his people
Theres only ashes of The Wake
===================================
Waking The Fallen
===================================
This is a continuation
For the story of the sun born
Regan Noel

For after his victory
That left only ashes
A new Wake formed

Sour from defeat
Craving to regain control
Of slaves recently free

They ambushed our hero
Then threw him in a cell
Blocked from his light

He felt powerless
For the first time
But he was not alone

Chained next to him
Was a wizard of dark ability
Named Nicklaus McCanter

Like Regan
His power was foretold
Deriving magic from the moon

"We must do something"
Nicklaus pled
"Rather than sit here virtually dead"

So together they formed a plan
A way of escaping
The ties that bound them

Absent power
They used their minds
Tricking the turnkey to set them loose

Once free
The new brothers set a course
For vengeance against oppression

In tandem they lay waste
To a fallen army risen
From the ashes of The Wake
===================================
Fall of The Wake
===================================
This is the conclusion
To a far away trilogy
Of magic and revolution

You see
The Wake could not contain the sun
But it could control the moon

So it sought to separate the two,
Regan and Nicklaus
In an attempt to disrupt balance

They turned the moon to the dark
Alienating the light
Of brotherhood

Pitting friend against friend
In a battle to the death
Poised to retake control of the aftermath

"Look into the light Nicklaus!"
Regan implored
Yet only hate looked back

"What have they done to you?!"
The hero begged
Not wanting to hurt his partner

"They awakened me!"
Nicklaus screamed
As black ink consumed his flesh

Knowing the battle was at a ******
He had no choice
So Regan summoned his voice

Like a white hot bar of iron
He flashed an image to his companion
A last ditch please for reason

In that instant time was frozen
Two men forged by prophecy
To restore balance

As blinding radiance met absent black
The opposing forces
Canceled out

Restoring sight to Nicklaus
Long enough for a noble sacrifice
That can be seen at night

'For he was a hero too
Giving his life for destiny
By destroying the moon
...

So everytime the moon is new
Just remember it symbolizes
The fall of The Wake

Upon Auhr, the walled fortress, the priests wait.
Sitting and hoping and praying for the return to the old ways of magic.

A mother sat, burdened with child.
The delivery to be made within minutes.
A ****** conception hailed by the sept to bring about the will of the Good.

This child, as fate saw fit, had been selected to be a magical reliquary;
A type of ley line to which the powerful reigned over their kingdoms and fifes.
Yet the previous phylactery had fallen, perished amongst the hounds howling; Shouting their desire for blood and fear and ultimately... control.

So to the priest we brought the woman and her gift so that magic;
That power... would not again fall into the hands of those hungry to own.
Instead a pact was struck;
A deal to ensure the boy would grow to be a wise and true ruler;
While also granting the priest and his sept access to the ethereal temptation of magic.

===================================

Within Auhr a child was born and for a generation peace ensued.
Philosophy and ethics were the thresholds of the Aurish culture.
One after another, generous philosopher kings guided the construction of an empire.

An imperial order was established shortafter;
Built by the very first priests that had shielded the One from exploitation.
Corruption had infiltrated their minds;
Their very souls,
To the point that they had forgotten the very reason power had begotten them.

The broken priests betrayed their God and were so lost in the process,
That eventually their greed led them back to Him;
The boy become old man, bearing the weight of the needy upon his back.

"Why have you returned?" The Wizened Wizard asked of them.

"You have something we all desperately wish to share with the masses."
They cackled menacingly behind weathered skin leathered with years.

"And what might I have to offer you holy men of my covenant that can be shared?"
He asked of the shrouded snakes huddled behind their robes;
In pittance for their transgressions do they dawn the hood.
A vain attempt to shield the world of the Good before their eyes.

"Magic!"
They all cooed in unison.
"Life!" They chanted as they began to enclose their deity.

"My death?!" The Savior exclaimed, "will only further define your destiny."
"You parasites can leech upon my life's blood and engorge yourself with my flesh.
In the process you will destroy what light is left within you and only darkness will remain.
The worst kind of magic will emerge;
The kind of Death that will reave this world asunder and erase the progress We made."

The grand priest of Auhr walked within inches of the Wizened Wizard;
And like he did when the chosen child was born, he embraced his reliquary...
Easing his hidden dagger between the ribs of the One King Chosen to die.

=================================

Beyond Auhr, He was reborn.
Far away from those who would use his Good for all the wrong reasons.

There is a beauty inside every darkness
A light that shines so bright
That every demon or devil that plagues
Your soul
Dissipates into the recesses of the black
From whence they came
Yet there are days when the shade reigns
And your beautiful spark dims
To the point that even angels
Begin to appear demonic
Sending shivers of fear through your spine
Causing all your thoughts to whirl
And unwind
A process that brings a craziness
To an otherwise brilliant mind
Capable of such passion that claws
In pleasure
When I step in and share your pain
Like a sentinel guarding your heart
From the deepest depths of despair
Reminding you that sight can be impaired
To the extent that you struggle to see
The honest man in me
===================================
I'll always be there to shield your eyes

The skin sloughs ever so slowly
As it parts from the blade and body
Slipping into the pail of past identity

On top I can see the newest addition
Eyes burning with golden bursts
Accentuated by cool emerald outlines
Staring back at their owner
Accusatory
The narrow pupil dilated in question
"Why go blind?"

I ignored the orbs
Instead turning back to the business
At hand
Where I was carefully removing
Fingernails and thumbprints
One by one joining the flesh
That had once been me

My eyes glared at me
I stared back
Empty sockets dripping
Drip
Drip
"Never have I seen more clearly
For without my skin I truly feel
Without my eyes I cannot cry
Nor nails nor prints to conceal
The real me is not outside
He's inside wanting only to heal"

The sky was foreboding as we set sail
Dark tendrils dominated the horizon
And the telltale BOOM of distant thunder
Predicated a storm we will never forget

In defiance of mother natures fury
We pushed on
Uncaring and willing to face whatever
Obstacles she dared throw our way
Be it hell or high water
We would not quit

Neither the first disrupting sprinkle
Nor the darkening gloom could dissuade
The course we had set
As a cool chill began to soak to the bone

We yelled at the doom:

"Is this all you have to offer?
Nothing easy is ever good!
This temporary drizzle
Will never sour our mood!"

As if in response a thunderclap rose
And white lightning lit up the riverbank
Illuminating the disappearing islands
We had so stubbornly named
Engulfed by the swell of oncoming
Floodwaters filling the river to the brink
Pushing us ever onwards towards
Bank after bank
Hoping to capsize or submerge our hubris
For a monument to all who dared challenge
Her wrath

We yelled at the monsoon:

"We see you there
In the miniature big bangs
And the millions of bouncing diamonds!
We see you there
In the rising depths of oblivion
And the countless tons of tears!
We see you there behind it all
And we still love you
Mother nature dear!"

We yelled until we were mute
We rowed until our hands seized
We shivered until we were frozen
We pushed on never to be seen

Time may stop
But it is those moments of life
Where beauty best sees fit to rest its head
Upon shoulders of iron will that refuse to bow
A strength beholden to one shared amongst the many
A light in the dark soul of a world gone mad
That shatters the sad heart born of a passing
Into a better state
One that knows no fear lest time resume
Its ever marching trek down the flowery gardens
To which experience paves a road of gold
Not diminished by its steady crossing
But improved for having been graced with such resolve
In that every stone demarcates a moment
Where time has slowed and reflections
Shine bright those calm moments of quiet serenity
Whose mother is peace omnipresent
Born from the passion of each step
Where every recollection recalls a story
Best told by those who shared in times gambit
Knowing that even at the end of one path
Time will stop and give birth to a highway of love
Lined with memories of you.

This is immortality

You're a moral conundrum
You exist as half a riddle
Yet not a full question
Somewhere in between
There is an answer
To your selfish selfless acts
That motivate you
To burn brighter
Than any nearby star
In comparison
Your morality is refreshing
It prefers the optimism
In a pessimistic world
As you view every interaction
On the premise of good nature
Solely for the sake of being good
To the people that make you happy
Never stopping to wonder motives
But instead to motivate
Others to be the best that they can be
While gaining only a smile

You, you moral conundrum
Puzzle me

Upon arrival my thoughts painted a patina
Full of dark hues of crimson and ink
Creating a stark contrast between the living colors of a healthy mountain sky

Months of worry and loss perpetuated a sense of loneliness
Like a disease slowly unraveling the progress and success
Obtained after years of falling

You taught me how to stand...
How to love...
And how to forget...

Upon my first step into this wilderness,
Our home,
A rush of lost emotion was found
And above me the sky roiled,
Screaming in protest,
As my thoughts of you merged with the quiet serenity of the neighboring peaks
To form a rolling tempest
Of our past and my present

The pain then crashed upon my soul
Sending myriad flashes of opposing memories
Incompatible with the reality of your absence

Through this colorful migraine
I found the courage to take another step,
One foot in front of the other,
Each alleviating your glare that had consumed my senses

With the last ray of light upon the horizon
I, like the sun, set down your image
So that upon my arisal
Fresh eyes can begin to see the sky
For its own inherent beauty
That for so long I had attributed to you

At lights end we find a state of mind
Eternal
Grasping for the familiarity of life
Lost
Hoping that we live on in a memory
Immortal
That establishes how to be a moral
Human

Symbols are signs,
Assigned by design.
Representing the ideas,
Concepts reside.
In the language we speak,
The words we write.
Symbols are to blame,
For contradiction plight.
So say what you mean,
And mean what you say.
Letters and numbers,
Symbolic Array.

As the cannon erupts
The death knell tolls
Signaling the end of the war
Within myself
============================
For by sheer proximity
I am unable to maintain
A loving focus
No matter how trivial the pain
My weapon is set to automatic
Never stopping to reload
Ignoring every misfire
Intending to be the hero
Of one scarred with wear
Wary of the burdens that weaken
Even the greatest of men
So I take flight
When normalcy arrives
Terrified of the notions
Where memories reside
Preferable to heaven
And the wings upon which
Angel's fly
For it hath become demonic
Lamenting in it's path
Through death and destruction
A heart protecting gas mask
That chokes and restrains
The natural enmity
Between wants and needs
Which steadily reigns my dreams
Into focus
Before I can corrupt your inherent Beauty
With anger and greed
============================
Some people never leave the battlefield
Others just bring it home with them
============================
We are constant combatants
In a war that cannot be won
============================
The saboteur
Of the one

Part 1: 'Upon Arisal'

Upon arrival my thoughts painted a patina
Full of dark hues of crimson and ink
Creating a stark contrast between the living colors of a healthy mountain sky

Months of worry and loss perpetuated a sense of loneliness
Like a disease slowly unraveling the progress and success
Obtained after years of falling

You taught me how to stand...
How to love...
And how to forget...

Upon my first step into this wilderness,
Our home,
A rush of lost emotion was found
And above me the sky roiled,
Screaming in protest,
As my thoughts of you merged with the quiet serenity of the neighboring peaks
To form a rolling tempest
Of our past and my present

The pain then crashed upon my soul
Sending myriad flashes of opposing memories
Incompatible with the reality of your absence

Through this colorful migraine
I found the courage to take another step,
One foot in front of the other,
Each alleviating your glare that had consumed my senses

With the last ray of light upon the horizon
I, like the sun, set down your image
So that upon my arisal
Fresh eyes can begin to see the sky
For its own inherent beauty
That for so long I had attributed to you

Part 2: 'Sunrise Orchestra'

I awoke to a song
A melody foreign to the ears
Of a life surrounded by concrete
Walls that strangulate the creative nature
Against mother natures nurture

With every note, a new realization dawned
Like the sun rising above jutted cliffs
Each varying in magnitude
To the degree that even the birds
Didnt know their tune

When alas,
The chorus reached a mountain creshendo
Filling the forest with such harmony
That I knew with every single beat
These woods are a part of me

Part 3: 'A Fires Radiance'

A fire has never burned so beautifully
Its radiance so mesmerizing that,
Like a thief in the night,
It had captured and stolen
More than just my attention
But also the affection of my heart
As it brushed its golden hot flames
Into forked tridents,
Each invoking the image of poise and grace
As it danced around
Joyfully engulfing every ounce
Of positive energy to be found
With every twig and log added
The blaze raged brighter
Burning at such a pace
Not even a whole tree could withstand
Its reach
Yet no ember wishes to be confined
As the wind gusts in,
A shower of sparks fly at their embrace
Spreading the message in wonderful ashes
Across this mountain
And to the amazing woman
Who ignited my inferno

Part 4: 'We Push'

Forward we Push
Into the never ending
Winding paths that detour
The heart
From the course of the ordinary
To achieve the extraordinary
We Push
To be more than the others
And better than the most
Panting and huffing we release
Our constraints,
These chains that shackle and bind
Our minds to the normalcy
That plagues the weak
So we Push
To be
More

Part 5: 'Home, In the Clouds'

Looking back has never been so painful
To leave the place where you find peace
Is no easy task
For me that place is in the clouds
Atop deeply forested arches
That link our Terra to the heavens above
Allowing every brave Explorer
To reach for God itself,
And for just a few fleeting moments
Understand what it means to be holy,
And pure
Like the crystal clear streams that carve
The mountainside
Creating bizarre gneiss's
That resemble an ocean wave
Turned to stone,
As old as Terra herself,
Slowly crashing down the cliffside
Moving the world
With every breath
Of my mountain home

===================================
.......................­.................................................

Always remember, life is nothing more than putting one foot in front of the other. Never give up.

-L.R. Thompson Poetry

The forms have spoken
Upon teary eye they break away
From the norms that attempt to define
Love in all its beauty
While all but ommiting
The proximity that lashes repetition
To an oath few can keep
For the heart can become numb
From the suffering of a soul
Once held in the highest of esteems
As the daily routines begin to toll
And the engine that once drove a pair
Begins to seize upon itself in a forceful
Despair
Like an ache in the spine
Our weathering starts to show
Making points already proven
Impeding the natural growth and flow
That once reached towards the skies
Illuminating the heavens
The desire for eternity
Is a jackpot of lucky sevens
777

I am Becoming Not.
Wasting away with the singular,
Empowering, He, the titular
Man of Wisdom.
Thence denouncing the God of Reason
As Thy transformation rip Thee
To pieces of never ending conformity.
Abandoning the mind,
Raising the soul,
Through which, the pain of loss,
Drives He to convince,
Conceive, and deceive
The prior aspirations
That once supported
The search for understanding
Now Thy sit and wonder
What is most important?
Not Becoming?
Or Becoming Not?

The sustained winds of our life
Blow strong in the direction of love
Consistent in its endeavor
To engulf the "I" with your eyes
With you I am grounded
Compounded with the rushing pulse
Of my hearts buffeted beating
Such that, with every gust
I realize how deep the roots go
That prevent me from falling
In any direction other than into
Your arms

This is our true strength
Stronger than any hurricane
Brave enough to cross the path
Of our loves typhoon

As the water falls
I feel my soul reawaken
Colors are brighter
More vivid
Greens coalesce into lush gardens of life
Made more pronounced by the grays of scattered boulders
Whose placement steers the water to lower climbs

As the water falls
I am falling with it
It’s power cleanses my heart
Opening my soul up to muted browns
Possessed by both life and death as leaves turn to soil
That breathes life into the skeletal limbs that anchor the forest canopy
Below Earth’s baby blues

As the water falls
I become swept away
Dragged further from the disconnections
That mute even the yellows of the sun
Pale to that of the myriad mountain flowers drawn from stark purples to contrasting reds
That remind me of both pain and happiness earned on the trail of life
Bruises that paint my battered body with the story of water and the gravity which causes us to fall

Do not save us
For we have become free
While falling

From Publius
To Terra

Salve amore mea

I bid you greetings from the new land
Though I am saddened by your absence
It is a necessary grief

Think not on the sweaty tasks unsuitable
For a beauty such as you
A house you deserve
A house I shall build

A grand atrium will await your arrival
Flowers and Garland will be strewn
To parade your coming

The triumphant wife
Whose radiant reflection shines as a goddess
Mine impluvium turned caldarium

Enter further and I'll have built for you
A grand hallway
Paved with mosaic representations of great Jove
And pastoral murals of our farm and ****** Ceres

Finally, I'll show you to your bed chamber
Finely furnished for the royalty of my love
Crowned in soaring arches crossed in such a way
That creates perfect cubes painted with dancing Cupid
Whose bow I've aimed to forever seal your heart

To mine own

When I draw the arrow
Feathers knocked to sunburned cheeks
And let loose my desire to hold you close
And erase the distance of space between
Our farm
And your home

All I've left to do is build and till and sow
May Sol, Luna, and yourself
Watch over me from afar
With love and well wishes

I will write you soon with more tales from the field
Until then, the work continues...

Vale amore mea,

PERTINAX

Never useless is the way you think
The way you move and the way you blink

Never useless are the moments saved
For the problems solved to the decisions made

Never useless is our sense of time always in the right as I'm writing your rhyme

Never useless I'll always say because what matters to me is hearing that you'll always stay

Sit and talk
Write the soul
Blank canvas
Stained red
Talking all
Those words away
Twisting madness
Turning gray
Running over
All the stories
Every sip
Turns into more
Blue thoughts
Of the falling rain
Don't compare
To this life of pain
As I hit this green
Nothing has changed
Everything is yellow
Nothing the same

It was a cleansing
A grey washing of the soul
Like a sky drip dropping rain
On an otherwise sunny day
Where light fights the clouds
For supremacy of the season
That up until this moment
Had remained constant and steady
In its conviction and reason
That even a sodden thunderclap
Could not shake the changing tides
As the drop dripping increased
And the sky began to fall
A wall of obscurity
Obscuring the pall
Where all sight diminished
Leaving nothing but the sound
Of a pitter-pattering blackness
Smothering the pain just moments
Before you drown

It was noon when the wise man approached me.
In his hand he carried a one hour sandglass,
Jovially bellowing upon every grain that trickled down.
So absorbed was he that clearly time didn't matter;
'For another two steps and he woulda crushed me and his hourglass.
"Woah timely sir!
It seems you've run out of seconds!"
I exclaimed
"Might I inquire about what is so important within this hour?"

The Sands slowed their decent as his gaze shifted...
His eyes fixated,
Everything froze...
Including the final grain,
Floating,
In its chalice.

He spoke to me.

"Given the choice between an
Hour...
Minute...
Second...
Which would you be?"

Curious I told him
"One hour"
To his reply
"There's only 24 of those in a day,
Think bigger."

Playing along I invoked
"The minute"
As he chuckled
"Though indeed bigger,
1440 is still too small.
Think larger."

Confused I queried
"A second?"
Not quite catching on

The laughing ended as he lifted his clock.
Silence reigned.
My eyes shifted to the immobile grain,
Hypnotic in its suspension,
When finally the fellow spoke above me:

"I hope you now understand the significance
Of 86400 moments."
Just before he turned the glass
To walk away.

From Publius
To Livia

I'm writing to tell you
I will no longer work your fields

For too long my sweat bled to make you look good
Mine harvest fed the entire eternal city
For months!

Yet you'd eyes only for the leadened ***** of
Gaius
And
Marcus
It's a wonder you haven't gone blind yet

Or mayhaps you have?

It would explain your complete and utter ignorance
Of the goings on right outside your window!

Those furrows
I plowed
That terrace
I built
Those grapes
I grew

I nurtured this land long before you
And Marcus

Originally,
It was just myself and Gaius
Charged with taming wild Ceres
Transforming forest to field
Then field to farm
A cornucopia of plenty

Then you came along
Your drooling dog in tow
Salivating the discord of Discord
While gorging yourself on Gaius' selfish lies
Taking credit for mine own efforts
And treating me as a mere shadow on the wall

Invisible to all

Well,
I prayed to the Capitoline Triad
I offered a white bull to Jupiter the king
And asked him to command radiant Sol
To shine bright on your shade
And bless me with brighter horizons

I begged jealous Juno
To send windy ****** to blow you off course
Along with your precious pets
Hopefully you'll crash on Sicilian shores
With only furious Polyphemus for company
For this I burned frankincense and myrrh

To ****** Minerva
A libation of mine own wine
So she might reveal your true arachnid self
A punishment for your self aggrandizing arrogance
Thinking yourself wiser in the art of cultivation
Than the goddess of wisdom herself

Dear Livia,
You should be worried

Already my horizons brighten
As yours begins to dim in mine absence
And slowly, your guise of perfection is slipping
Revealing six sinewy legs, dagger tipped
And fangs dyed red with innocent blood

The Gods have heard my prayers
And your web begins to unravel

Praise Olympus

Signed,
PERTINAX

On the ***** of our feet
We pivot
Revolving around to the beat
Of a classical melody
Both wholesome and nuanced
Like the flow of the wind
Or the splash of a pond
That gives this feeling a motion
In sync
With the tones of every movement
Moving slowly then starting anew
Everytime my eyes meet yours
This Starlight Dance
Gives me a hope
That as long as there is a chorus
I get to be a part of your heart