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

make her smile with some small thing
and i love so much the light in her eyes
make her giggle with some silly thing
and i love so the sound of her joy
her romance necklace breaks just so
she delicately wraps me up in her arms
she wants to wear me instead
tight oh so tight can feel her heartbeating against mine
feel her dissolving into me
like a warm dreamy milkshake swimmer
she lands a quick kiss
just a touch and go
touch and go she laughs wildly silly girl
so close to me i can feel her soul moving to the music
so close i can feel her heartbeat against mine
she wears me all kinds of naked and unafraid
i steal kisses all over
and she looses herself on my bare skin
touch and go
but never going far
cause shes close enough to hear
the love she feels in her heart growin
to hear the romance garden flowin

safe in the fortress of my heart
i looked out on the mysteries of my world
reveled in the complex dance of lovers united in
burning desires and passionate loves
and then i heard a distant swansong
heard a distant love affair promised behind
such lovely phrases and alluring photographs
but as the truth of it resolved itself in minds eye
i could see it failing in the crisp moonlight
i could see its painful ending that
is as sure as a rising sun
that it would leave me
in a dire thirst
a depleted soul

please pull me away from this swansong
this enticing tale
for its sweetness clings to me
its promised loveliness and beauty
are only facade for such a dark and lonely place
i will end up believing such a tale
i will fall victim to such a beautiful thought
and the swansong will be spread to yet another
lover torn from the worlds complex dance
of true beauty and love

safe in the fortress of my heart
this dire tale sweeps up against me
trying to wear me down
i call out that others should be aware
i cry out that others should see
this swansong so pretty and beguiling
is such a dark thing
i will hold out for the dawn
i will stay true to my love
and there i will breath easy a summer's day
in there i will find loves true tale
loves complex dance of passion and desire
i will once again dance happy and free
with all the other lovers wrapped in
the warmth of our passions

her endless summer dream
gathers dust on its sand encrusted photo of
beach blanket love affairs

jet planes departing for distant lands
she had her five and dime sunglasses
and a transistor radio
tuned to the cheerful forever summer song
still has that picture of her in the fall of 66
hamming it up for the camera with her Stanley
he passed a while back

now she shuffles up along the seawall
with her big hat and her bags
candy for little ones
a kiss on the cheek for the nice
young man who brings the paper
its miami in febuary
its endless summer
its brighton beach's southside
and i know ill have to stay

her single shot pistol is smoking as you walk in
her blushing bride smile is a dead give away
that something is amiss
he left a ballroom waltz
worth of footprints all over her smile

she persuades you to rent a buick '
and take the pursuit on the road
so the three of us head south on the us-1
to some strange beachside town
where all the girls are bubble gum machines
and the boys are paint by number boxing fans
but we finally catch the thin fatman
sitting on a beach-chair
sipping tea
and lookie-louing yachts from nantucket

she kisses and makes up with him
and you know that your romantic days are over
and she gives no reason but she got a soft spot
for his three piece suit lifestyle
brooks brothers got nothing on him
he gets his threads form the five and dime
pockets full of pickles
bread in his thinning hair

pale as a whispered winter wind
she sat in the amber glow of the streetlight
with her cascading delicate blonde hair disheveled
her blue eyes distant
gaze out the window to the fierce winter night
between theatrical sobs spins out the tale
of her sorrows
pointing with a trembling hand at the
windswept streets
the story of a perfect love frail but pure
the story of beautiful ways and warm embraces
but along the way she had lost him
and all track of her intimate dreams
now she paints seascapes grey and foreboding
now she sketches raindrops on a summer day

beheld by the timid heart with hopeful intent
any life seems both bold and beautiful
seems to be the essence of perfection
desirable and meant to be bound up with true loves gifts
but such dreams are fleeting and swiftly abandon the dreamer
leaving the coarse and the cold reality's behind
but there is the crux of it
can the dream survive the dreamer waking
can the dream stand strong in the walking worlds light of day
when i held her as that dreamer i knew her
when i awoke her beauty still filled me
when i awoke my love for her overflowed my heart
such dreams heal our souls
such dreams give life meaning
i beheld with my timid heart a beautiful dream
and when i awoke that dream was alive
and kissed me
now my heart is bold
now i live

never before let it blossom like
roses in such fairest sunlight
he was a man of wilderness
strong and sure in his way
a creature of knowing and doing
a stranger to this game of light and shadow
of loves falsely promised and tenderness teased
of loves true touch tenderness felt in unison with another soul
a man of the hunt for wild beasts
he sought to ensnare her in traps of logic
but any fool knows there is no logic to the heart
and its romances are all she knew
such is a fiery burning bright and true to the heart romance
such is the knowing a woman's deep hearts desires
he calls out in moonlight her name
and she comes to him
and they share wild hours wrestling
body and soul
this is the true spoken word
there is no life without love
a man of the world now
no man can stand without a woman's hand

immortal in my heart
are the moments with her in my embrace
lost myself in her tender loves
her unspoiled gaze is the home iv sought
all my life
the warm seasons of my heart
belong to her
like two summer suns together we live as one
forever in the beautiful illusions
of summers everlasting days
and deep pure nights
as one we live
as one we breath
this eternal love
this gift sweet and dear