the painting was literal
figure hunched walking a dirt road in rain
its hues and tone spoke
mute but vividly
each brush stroke matched the images birthplace
in the authors crippled heart

each leaf a burnished gold of autumn
each a dying fragment of the withered tree
even the mans footprints in muddy soil
one can almost feel the squalid mud underfoot
his uniform and helmet named him a frenchmen
from the great war
his boots rendered with bloodstain

figure hunched walking dirt road in rain
a great dying had come to france that day
swords drawn they charged into deaths embrace
this man and his comrades in this awful place

the painting hangs in some museum
an awkward moment for the viewer
is he going into the storm of battle
or going home after
the tale is left untold
it is just the tale of a man on a road in the rain
a frenchmen in the world war
a lone figure in rain

effortlessly we cut a rug in the beautiful moonlight
it was one of those perfect nights you never forget
among the starlight scattered and spinning on the dance floor
the sweet remains of our lovely night dancing
we wandered the soft side of night
in eachother's arms
it was like having a yearling heart all over again
it was like being in love for the first time all over again
with my head nestled on her bare shoulder
like discovering what it was
like being with a woman the first time
a long beautiful moment that lasted forever in my yearling heart
that wrote a lifetimes love affair just in
those precious moments in her arms
such is the intoxicating beauty that is my lover
such is the occult magic of womanhood
that i thirst so much for
that i adore so deeply
that is the root of all love poems
the beauty of a woman's heart
we wandered the soft side of night
in eachother's arms
dancing embraced  in eachother's love
forever more

a thirsty soul suspended over the
waters of this heartland like some kind of
symbolic sacrifice to the lesser demigods
she is wearing a hippy skirt and a fashionable hat
a swift sunrise gives her aspects of divinity

she tells me she came here to go shopping
but in the turbulent space between our hearts
something has changed
she tells me cloudy days make her sad
i tell her rain is a companion to no man
but the flowers love it just the same
she knows she loves it too

i pick up her thought and bounce it like a rubber ball
cause it keeps comin back to me'
just like that mysterious smile that
lingered on her face
long on my mind
i cant seem to shed the thought
that it all means something someplace
always somebody thirsty somewhere

the clock stopped at a quarter to four
and a shameful woman sits there fixing her face
with the wrenches and hammers of fashionable practice
seek to be the same as everybody else
someday your bound to get there
just to find yourself questioning why you
bothered once your there

her and the shameful woman put a
heated argument in the pocket of hunger
and giggling like schoolgirls walk away
to go find a mirror to get lost in
swap makeup and spit in some bathroom selfies
girls night out

i'm standing out here in the open air parking lot
watching the heartland of fiveashes sink slowly into the sea
walk on the puddles reflections of clouds
as they break apart to bring us a brand new day
rain is a companion to no man
but the flowers like it anyway

its a mystery to me
all the closer than touching with her
all the beauty in being with her
all the hopeful tomorrow dreamin' that keeps her warm
she is right here sleepin' next to me
she has always been here
always been breathing in the background of every thought i've had
in the background of every good thing iv ever done
sleepin' softly next to me all night long
i would wake her
tell her of my long night
tell her of many things great an' small
would hold her
just wrap her in my arms and never ever let go
she has always been the reason
she has always been the question
its a mystery to me
all the years and miles that got me here
lost and found so much seemed like a single wondrous day
beautiful because at the end of it all she is here next to me
always been breathing in the background of every thought iv had
in the background of every good thing iv ever done
sleeping softly
all the closer than touching
all the beauty of being here with her
is mine at long last
she is mine at long last
and i just want to be closer than touching with her
want to live the beauty of being with her
just want to hear her whisper love songs for me alone
mine at long last

faded roses on the wallpaper
leaves bent back in an imagined wind
fingerprints of a thunderstorm cling to the wet image
she says it was a lovely thought that gave birth to such beautiful drawings
that any child could see many adventures to be
in such lovely daydreams
a place where the child of her heart could run free
decorated with faded roses
celebrated by teddy bears and tea sets
on long summer afternoons in the beautiful sunshine
while brothers and others chased firefly's
like days of old aeroplanes
dogfighting daredevils in the forever blaze of glory
swashbucklers that save the day and win the girl
ride off into the sunset
tv screen fades to black
faded roses on the wallpaper are all that remain
sunbaked in the passing years
a lovely thought that gave birth to our childhood
a swift dream
faded away

transient light begins to fade from the winter sky
i reach up with all my strength
but i cannot hold back the failing daylight
cannot cease its awkward stumbling into night
but as its last vestiges slip away a song comes to my heart
its words inked in my very soul
all the joys and true beauty of togetherness shared
that all of these loves iv know and nurtured
have not been in vain
that as i stand alone in the gathering shadows
i will never really be alone
for there are hearts out there who still cherish me
i am not forgotten
a rich tapestry of images my heart brings back to me
the smiling faces of the people in my world who have shared
warmth and love with me
are with me always, forever
tonight i may sail a dark sea
but i am anchored in the safe haven of another's heart's dream
so as the transient light fades from the sky
i have no fear
i have only love

in the softest sound of a hopeful heart
she awaits you
she mesmerizes with the delicate flower of her smiles
cascading down your nightly path laughing sweetly
you know shes there
and so you whisper a soft song to her
you bring into it every touch of love
every tender intensity of devotion
and caress her soul with your heartfelt desires
you tell her of bright beauty of tomorrow shared
you sing to her of the swift velvet sea where
the two of you will forever be free upon its deep waters
you sing to her of the love your heart feels
for her alone
you know shes there next to you
holding you close
close enough to breathe as one
its not just a dream
its not just the beautiful night kissing your heart
she is there in every thought your heart feels
she is there ‌every song beautiful hearts dream
sing to her now
in just a whisper
she is so close to you
you breathe as one
delicate dance of fingers on each others softest soul
sing to her of futures to be shared
tell her of all the things that you hope for
tell her that your devoted love will last forever
forever just for her
forever just for her

© 2016 mark john junor all of my poems are my exclusive property
and all rights are reserved

they all walked
with willing hearts
with open eyes
or so they all believed
they wanted to know madness
so she showed them mirages she created ink and paper
the fruit of a tree where there was only barren darkness
the man who could fly without wings or a sky
a sea made of sand
a child with an old mans soul
a dream made of burning wood
the machinery of the mad mind blinded by darkness
its wheels turning powered by the words she spoke
its sharp edged meanings painted by her haunting eyes
did a lifetimes living in its loud escapism
quick the muddy waters flow
drink of its thick strong taste
know the clarity of madness
only found in the shadows of night
a corner beyond the edge of carpet
carved into the wooden floor in strange symbols
the meaning of your life
the name of the beast your heart rides
its dark skin that you cling to sweating and hot
leaves you staring into
the abyss
lost from your mind
whispering secrets
laughing quietly
grin at the beast
see it grin back

cling to my misspoken thoughts
as my emotional titanic sinks
leaving me gasping for breath
put up a brave face while walking through
a snake pit of unfriendly eyes
she walks beside me with her dark motives in a jar
she plagiarized his sardonic smile
and nourished the same beast that's within all of us
that thrives on angry tears
no mystery this happenstance face i wear
i got it from the dogeared newspaper salesman
who lingers on the street corner in the rain
his headlines always predict the worst of human nature
but if you read the fine print
there are always better people trying to speak above the fray
and if you had heard the soft siren song
it would have spoken beautiful things to your heart
it would have given you gifts of knowin'
brought you home with her voice
made you at ease with the tale told
as she plagiarizes your sweetest smiles

let me slip away into sleep now
let me open my dreamers eyes in restless slumber
slip away to a dream of summer long ago
to walk the paths that only boyhood knew
to be once more the manchild beholding
all the world within my grasp
all the mysteries to be conquered
to be the hero for all the world to see
this sleeping world gives glimpses of itself as i awaken
the steps of roosevelt school
footsteps echoing on the ornate marble
laughing clear and clean
without worry or taint
let me slip away into sleep once more
let me fly among the stars
in wonderful adventure
let me run like the wind
free once more
free

a thick clown living in his square meal life
painted his smile on his face quite early in life
sheds the years like skin but the smile remains
watches the grass grow
thinks how its like dreams grow into plastic flowers
if he only knew which priest of pestilence to follow
they all begin to sound like cheap warehouse salesmen after awhile
if he could just decipher the writing on the cave wall
spray painted faces and names like pictographs of
some mysterious civilization hiding out behind the 7-11
a robust man of leisure he fries his skittles on the front lawn
candy for the man with no other pleasures
but a sweet girly girl comes by and gives him hugs
in exchange for bedbugs
if we all could live a life of such luxury
the world would be a better place
the thick clown is getting thinner as he leaves behind
all his broken record memories
time for some brand new fresh from the factory hopes
time for a laxative for his mind
that'll flush all the bull away

madness had taken her in the night
she danced naked in the moonlight
screaming of revenges and mysteries wet
when she finally fell to exhaustion's sleep
i tended her fevers but could not ease her mind
which flew like a black raven in the rain
here and there without sense of reason
crying out its displeasure's and it discomforts
a bead with a hole for an eye
her mind was down there in that hole somewhere

she fled in the daylight
and i tried to follow her on down to the swamps edge
but i could not follow the trail further cause it was
into madness she raced with careless abandon
and in the swamps breeding breathing bleeding
that her footfall lead

long days passed without a sign
as i camped there by the dark edge of sanity
waiting for her return
waiting for my loves sweet arms to find me once again
but my only companion was a black raven
he came to talk to me
all those long days under the sweltering sun
and after a time his words became clear to me
after a time his thoughts became mine
told me to dance to the song of the rain
told me to run and seek the sun
in the swamps dark halls

now we are here
living in our own world
and its alright
cause we have our friend
a black raven with a eye like a hole
with a mind like gravel
a mad dream to be sure
but it is ours alone

moody girl
resting her head on me
while i purge my thoughts to the page
spilling like a dark red wine
its all sticky but the words lay down
in complacent indifference
i **** them with a wooden stick
wishing they would run and fly
wishing they would speak with their own voice
but they only give a sluggish lip service to the effort
she is breathing a sleepy word of her own from my lap
lover
i type with one hand while the other is wrapped up in her dreadlocks
this is my gem moment of the day
we are alone
and all the day is behind us
twilight gathers us in its gentle arms
and i can just live in the moment
i can explore her
always some new way to see this complex girl
always some new way to be with her beautiful loves
she makes my heart seaworthy
the depth her articulate eyes say things to me
that i would never had dreamt
the storybook of her open face speaks to me
romances me with her fairytale heart
i am her prince
she is my bride

starlet of the silver screen
crafted herself to display the power of her beauty
and practiced in the art of visual seductions
she desires to be intoxicating
to move men to noble heights without saying a word
to ****** the hearts of men with just a smile
to be center stage in the brilliant light of adulation
her craft allows her to be anyone she wants
princess or pauper
a master of her craft she is every man's dream
she is true beauty
at the height of her career
a hollywood starlet
an american goddess
the love affair daydream of every fanboy
i look into those velvet eyes
and see all that ever could have been
all things ever desired
she's a starlet of the silver screen
woman boldly striking a seductive pose
assured and strong
true beauty
american goddess

out to sea
countless miles hand to the tiller
to find that brief moment
on the crest of a twenty foot breaking wave
as a nor'easter wilds the sea
when you glimpse it
in the stillness between heaven and earth

she hid in her bedroom
looking at a late fall paris passing rainstorm
and on the run down east side facing the setting sun
she could just make out another lover fleeing town with
his creditors in hot pursuit
he owed so much for the words he had abused
up on paris's boothill
the gunslingers and thieves wouldn't have ya
it was in that darkest hour she glimpsed it in the mirror

under the bewitching stars
in the anvil of desolation's wasteland of high desert
on the cusp of the suns imminent rise
you can see it in the broiling fire
as the edge of the world itself appears to burn
you can see clearly that this end
of your little world
is but a door which you stand at the threshold
many times in your life
step into the fire or frying pan
step into the next world you will live in
or try vainly to escape into the past

her mind once well groomed as a summer sky
joy interlaced with her tears
i see the enchanted waters of her hearts inner sea
sailing ships painted there so regal and powerful
they plunder the waters for its most intimate secrets
for its most fragile dreams
i see myself reflected there
all the hopes and dreams of all men
to know that stormy sea of a woman's heart
to know the intimate touch of her lips on yours
i am but a dreamer in that place
but it searches my soul to behold
that delicate flower of her heart
growing bold with her care
growing to love without thought or care
i am humbled by the truth of her
i am in awe of the strength of her
to know her kiss
to know her tender embrace
so i sail on into the night raptures of her pleasures
lost no more
found at the edge of her inner sea
i am her man
she is to me
everything