The steering current turns north
Bringing wild winds stirring
As the massive storm stalks us
From far past horizon
I keep watch to the gathering rains fall
As my silent brother sleeps
Would try to pry him awake
But we no longer speak the same language
My mutterings no longer register

Hours become days
As the storm unwinds
Sometimes the sun breaks the rain
And my lost brother can speak
Do you remember this...
Remember that...
What's to discuss when you are not home
What's to endorse our liberty's
When you're tied to a bed

A storm stalks far over the naked horizon
The promise of her ferocity tasted in the
Stirring wind
Rain and a wicked flood
That will shred hearth and home
But my sleeping brother lay safe
In the confines of his mind
Sleep bother sleep on and on
Rest easy longliner
The sea awaits

starry eyed dreamers once caged
by the limits of their lives
push past the fences the world erects
and with their devotions to the freedom
of the heart they paint with lenses the
worlds kittens and cream hidden
in the burnt out shells of cars in a field

and the lost can always be found
by the banks of the rivers dream
with tents shielding from the overripe summer sun
and transistor radios churning out
a tin mans version of stairway to heaven
while the poor girls knit socks the rough boys wrestle
and there's catfish on the fire
for the all night feast

grown accustom to the light hand
and comfortable bed
easy to forgery a smile when the soul is corrupt
she says long as you don't linger where you cash it in
the living is easy long as its another's life
she winks easy as her hand slides like jelly down towards my pocket
but iv done the road and asphalt make bad bedfellows
so i push off serenity and her neon mile dream
push onwards to a place in a sun
river faces and clockwork planes overhead
by the setting sun
and cool sea

the spring day so longed for
its crisp sunlight such deep reflection of joy
its warm breeze so like a gentle kiss from a lover
so full of promise and possibility
this spring day so long dreamed of in the winter
what laughter this day holds
what adventures with friends
what beautiful moment with sweet lover
as the warm day sweeps away winters chill
as the spring gives light and life to your world once again
breath deeply its clean fresh breeze
breath deeply its sweet flowers bloom
this is a time to rejoice
this is a time to renew the life fulfilled
spring is joy and wonder
spring has come to us once again
let the days of spring renew your heart

she dances to imitation elvis
with the toy cowboy guns blazing
from their sunflower and daisy barrels
fuzzy kittens are hunters in the jungle
of laundry-land
she a sorceress retro-edition neo glam girl
and she might have a moment for your version
long as the colors dont clash
shes a horse girl in a slack jaw rabbit world

i thought to spare you
i thought that you would break under the burden

they led the weak ones to slaughter
and she was in her coloring books
the blood washed up on the tiles like a tide
and she wished so hard not to see
that it was just a dream
she is no weak child
she could hold back the mountain back
but her tears break on this blade of sunlight like
a thousand voices wailing in pain

i cannot bear to see you this way
wrapped in rags in the fashion capitol
shivering in the cold before a warm fire
hungry in midst of feasts
rise up woman
rise up and take your wrath
take your children under your protection
take me home to the river road
where i was happy in your arms

she dances with imitation elvis
with the toy cowboy guns blazing
from their sunflower and daisy barrels

dust floats in the still air
otherworldly in the shafts of sunlight that
slip silently onto the floor from the
partially obscured window
the curtain rustles slightly in a dry gasp of breeze
spring is alive and bursting its bonds outside
one can almost taste how the ****** spring air returns life to
the windswept field below

the vacant room echoes my footsteps
its expanse of naked wood floorboards looks
beaten and weathered
rough against my bare feet
but its is the sparkling treasure  
laying in the surreal sunlight
a heart shaped necklace
a lament that appeals with a golden glow
the riches of a heart that once was abundant with sweet love
slowly buried in dust

in my mouth
my words once bold and bright
words that once carried and cared for
words that lovingly embraced the reader
now caked with layers of dust
as the room became the cage
locked away with only
the warmth of a surrendered heart
and the unspeakable sunlight that never cares
never embraces
never loves
and of course
the dust
slowly burying eyesight
obscuring the world in this grey room
the dust i live and breath

the clouds have a rift
that bleeds sunlight
down on the thought machine
that grinds a steady pace
of meat upon which the bearded wisemen must chew
only they can interpret the bones cast
like oracles of old
only they can see the fates
so i rise and step carefully through the empty door
thinking that it once held such promise
the morning is rampant with people
and id rather not speak till
i have a grasp on what im not thinking
so i retreat to the filthy carpet of her hole

the muttering continues into the night
and no matter how many times i step to the hall
he just stands there and speaks to  the window
open and blowing soft
he tells the night
that hes not frightened anymore
he will do that till dawn
then he will crawl to his screaming bed and try to sleep
nothing prepared him for the slow torture test that hes been dealt
keep on keeping on till you cant keep on no more

she walks in and shakes off the rain
scattering droplets of her passing
she looks at me with open questions
but the closed fist of her mouth speaks louder
than any words she could muster
they strike my mind with painful reality's that
have never seen the light of day
she just made them up to justify
and i make it clear that i wont stand for it
as i lay here and absorb her verbal fantasy's
wish sometimes i could be like him
and just whisper the world away
dream away the words

in the hallway of the building
on the vast ***** white tiles
she absorbs the nights festivity's
with the jaundiced casual hand of a lifelong soul thief
with the barrenness of a wasteland for a heart
i look upon her with growing need to
simply let loose and walk away
this is no place for me
for i am alone

the river of light moves out
from beyond a cloud
and fills my mind with a deafening silence
that tasted more of a tomb
than spring day
that disturbing silence scattered
thoughts in its wake as it moved
through my moment
thoughts and crystal clean visions of memory
is its old ages hand at work
his lethargic inked soul moving in strife
against my castles of sand
or is it witless buffoons labouring for illness
that undercut the foundations of my day
the river of light shifts its stance
staring down upon my small plot of soils
and my garden flourishing in its
rows of careworn leaf
i sit neath the palm tree and watch its
slow shade dance with the hard angles of my house
the river of light will dry up soon for the day
so with one good eye to the tilled earth
i ply the tool to furrow
and seek to wrestle another hour from the earth

we think of them as lazy
slow and peaceful
places of fishing and summer play
but a river...

(one)
the rivers edge
intoxicated by the night air
drunk with the silken touch of her
he walked slow through the old town streets
down to the rivers edge
thought to sit for a space at the calming sounds of
the rivers quiet song
he shut his eyes and pictured her face
thought about each and every soft thing bout her
and slipped into a sleep

the words were printed with legible care
you could sense the measured time taken
perfect each etched line on the paper
like they themselves were children
to be nurtured
and the phrases were trimmed
and crafted
cant you see that this is
the man you were born to be
wordsmith

he stirred in his sleep
deep in the night
the small boat he had fallen asleep on
now carried him silent and swift
miles down the wide old river
from her rich silent forests of the north
through her flatlands of crops
down to the mud of the delta

he dreams of her
telling him a story
with her voice soft and full of love
a story of a man on a boat drifting
down a long river
and of all the wonders that sleeping
man could not see
her story came to its end
as he slowly woke from his slumbers
on a calm sea
with no shore to the eyes furthest see

(two)
the morning light
is twisted up in the eye
the morning air is thick as thieves
as it tries to rob your strength
stagger down long the rivers edge
hear them coming on the dirt road
try and hide your fearful face
but its daylights dark delight
to leave you exposed for all to see

you wade into the rivers cold waters
feel it trying to pull your feet from under you
feel it tryin to pull you down to a hard place
from whence you shall find no return
fight to swim in the stained waters
tastes of metal
tastes like death
but you must flee this place
flee this open grave with your name carved

on the rivers far bank
perceive the tinge of a fast car
escape from this dark place of daylight
all you must do is make it to the shore
just a few feet more
till salvation
you hear them behind almost upon you
come to drag you back
to that soul killing prison
here in the midday sun things growin dim
vision growing faint
as you slip into the darkness beyond this world
they did not claim you
the river did

all teeth and eyes
the road-man wears diesel and grease
he wears leather and jeans
his is the hard life
but he lives it like no other
the road-man is a mouthful of bullets and bones
and his eyes are dust and gravel
his motorbike's engine growls like a living thing
its pipes shine in the unforgiving sun
it runs the road like lightening
the road-man is a creature of the
high desert road
where dust devils and snakes crawl the
unforgiving landscape
he is a hard man to know
has not much to say
but you will never meet another man
so ready to lay it on the line
so ready to face the burning road
a dying breed

the sun romances the night sky
seeping its slow blue
into the wheeling starfeild
its own grandeur carousel fades
as the stars dulled by the dawn stray away
one by one they bid farewell to the day

dawn
her blushing bride endeavor
expanded to her full embrace horizon to horizon
leaves fine line lace of mist
on the water
and begins to warm to announce
the forthcoming of her proud man

noon approaches
thundering hoofs of furnace heat his stallion
his brow breaks with the sweat of his labor
pushing the sun up to her pedestal heights
so a breif rain sqaull rocks our ragtag little ship
noon throws lightening and makes such rousing appeal
but the younger sister approaches
and noon must forsake his place

the quiet seductress afternoon
with her hazy summer heat lulling
and her many sweet scents and sounds
lay with you in the grassy field and
makes love to you with dreams of everlasting summer
and remembrances of childhood carefree abandon

she calls out to her mother evening
who comes and with a mothers love cools your brow
suppertime and laughter with loved ones
gathered at the kitchen table
dream time in safe places of the soul

finally night comes
slipping in silent and swift
deep and quiet he is mystery
gathering of soldiers who fail to conquer
gathering of lovers who two by two not
only are the world but make it anew
with love and with children
now full circle we have come
on the spiral track of our days
as the sun romances the night sky

romance the burnt sea
love its stain on your writing hand
romance its dark waters
and the stillness of the words it creates in your heart
evening light shows the beast of tides
gnawing at the sandy shore with restless hunger
feed it your naked feet as you run through the crashing waves
feed it your devil fish of ******* clad thoughts
but hide your face lest it see you and desire you

the beast of tides feeds on the velvet sands of paradise
while its offspring feed on starlight
ever hopeful of redemption foolish as it is

she tells you she loved the beast and the burnt sea
opened her heart to its plain plight
cared for it mended its wounds
spread herself to its darkness
now as it lay off shore she longs to swim in its dark water
she speaks of joining its bitter love
the burnt sea has hills like waves in the grasslands
creates creatures to chase this butterfly
all must taste of salt
even the sky
and the beast and the burnt sea shall see it done
she surrenders her naked feet to the
and rejoices in the salt scent
romance the burnt sea
for it is loved as she is

a romeo on fire
his heart ablaze with the glory of being in love
his mind fixed upon beauty of her presence
dances with his future in the balance so precarious
lounge with style was the way to be or so he would say
better to be relaxed and let it all flow whichever way
cause nothing matters much but the love
yes nothing but love
dealing the cards with such style
dealing the days with such finesse
and oh the nights
when it was all glittering lights
when it was all just him and her out on the dance floor
smooth so skilled with his moves
a romeo on fire
his burning loves light up the night for every lonely girl
his passion play makes them believe they will be hollywood starlets
in the shadows his is the place for the girls to be
but morning light will reveal his hollow words
morning light will reveal his dark world
a romeo on fire fades away before the dream can come true
leaves the girls crying  
romeo oh romeo where for art thou?

The night soft filled with the scent of roses
filled with the quiet  whisper of her dress on her bare skin
the room on fire with her eyes
the world gone far away outside...far far away
her lips part slightly as she mouths the words
take me.... take me ....  love me... love me...take me...

she walks to the edge of the bed where I lay
she melts onto the sheets
and our touch ignites things in her
that makes wicked sounds come
that makes wicked dreams come alive

hours of knowing and learning eachother later
she lay shy in my arms
looking up at with eyes that say
my innocence is yours....my heart is in your hands
kissing her softly i hold her tight

the night is filled with the scent of roses
and the only sound that i can hear
is the whisper of her soft skin on the sheets
the only thought that reveals
is how could i ever have existed
before i had her
before she had me

tonight....roses

nothing ever makes sense
when its all upside-out-inside-down
when its all mixed up like her heart
like her thoughts till she can **** on a big fat joint
she always says dont bogart
and dont be lipping my paper...dont want your slobber on my doobie
then she relaxes into her day

but my backwards head thinks shes allready gone
least thats what im seeing in  my
upside-out-inside-down thinking
shes doing her nails
and out of the corner of my mind
i am watching her her packing her life up and moving on
im imagining what will it be like if she was gone
know that redhead would come more often
know that my days wouldnt be as good
know my nights wouldnt have any passion or hope
that my world would be empty

but then she comes over to me and slips hers arms round me
and all that upside down inside out backwards thinking is a lie
shes not going anywhere without me
and she whispers a soft word on my ear
baby dont you ever leave me

this is no ordinary love
this is passion

this is no ordinary night
she was here
her perfume still lingers in the shadows
the snow cannot cool the heat she left on my lips
cannot cool the fire she started in my heart
she gave me all her soul contained
gave me her candle light jazz bar nights
gave me satin warm love benith the stars

alone with every tender inch
alone with her knowing
with her
inside with everything she has to give

nights have never been so long
the world has never been more mine
than in her arms
the soft scent of roses and that white dress
she gave me her candle light jazz bar nights
her endless nights on the sheets
as her man...her only ever man

this is no ordinary love
this is passion
now a fever burns in my mind
now a maddness burns in my heart
now she is in me
consumes me with a fire cool and deep
a love that can never be undone
a bond that can never be forgotten

this is no ordinary night
she was here
her perfume still lingers in the shadows
the snow cannot cool the heat she left on my lips
cannot cool the fire she started in my heart
she gave me all her soul contained
gave me her candle light jazz bar nights
gave me satin warm love benith the stars

alone with every tender inch
alone with her knowing
with her
inside with everything she has to give

nights have never been so long
the world has never been more mine
than in her arms
the soft scent of roses and that white dress
she gave me her candle light jazz bar nights
her endless nights on the sheets
as her man...her only ever man

this is no ordinary love
this is passion
now a fever burns in my mind
now a madness burns in my heart
now she is in me
consumes me with a fire cool and deep
a love that can never be undone
a bond that can never be forgotten

A single page of her
fills her lover's world
ardent appetite to be cradled like the  
adoration of a mortal unexceptional goddess
who sometimes has high-heeled shoes of clay
leaves her and her lover to waver among
joys shared blissfully diffused by tears shed quietly
A single page of her is written
with the fundamental spirit of a lust for love
an ambition to live loves dream
which is center to every man and womans heart
A single page of her is provender for the soul
with a common language of immortal romantic notions

A single page of her
just a human being
with another human being
just an exceptional love within an uncomplicated heart
softly written open to lights of loving warmth

A single word of her
fills the canvas with brilliant colors
takes on the shapes of this feverish love affair
takes on the hue's of these hearts at ease
that wrestle each other naked souls
then cleave to each other with a dire thirst
A single word of her statuesque illustration
histories and futures softly spoken in the animated night
expressions of this average celestial throne
this world of exceptional average simple beauties
A single word of hers
that i have never actually heard
but knowing its there unspoken in her eyes
just a human being

A single picture of her
fills a poet's hands with rich verse
words laden with potent essence within their expression
as wild as the wind in the deepest part of the rain
as enriched as breathing exaltation and splendor
her photograph pasted to the mirror's edge
as if she were a reflection of dreams
as if perfection had a name
A single picture of her
embroidered by a light that shines
only from some souls
a warmth that greets every passing stranger
an intensity that verges on fire

A single moment of her time
leaves impressions upon you that will breathe within you
growing in the remembrance
like roses upon the vine
interwoven and lovely in the warm light
just a human being
but she will always be
just Kristen

© 2018 mark john junor all rights reserved

bring me a fast fast horse
there is a burning in the north
that i must answer
there is a burning that calls to me
rode hard in to the night
riding hard thru the blazing sun
rode till that horse up and died on me
bring me a fast fast horse
there is a burning up north that calls to me
it burns my mind
burns my soul
i must answer this hellfire
must answer this curse
bring me a fast fast horse
and stand back out of the way
for none shall stand before me
i shall **** em dead
shall trod upon them
to make my way
answer this burning
in the north
bring me a fast fast horse
for i must
answer this soul curse
and there at the edge of the
cold cold ice field
i beheld the answer of my life
beheld what i had struggled all my life
to reach
for the fires of hell do not burn  with fire
they burn with the same cold you find in men's hearts
it was the burning souls of all thouse
who had surrendered to
lure of riches and fame
thouse who had killed to get a few dollars more
the ones who succumb to greed
i did not come extinguish it
i came to be part of it
so i shall be to eternity
forsaken to the fire and so it shall be

salt offerings to the wounds of pride
difference between dark of doom
and the engine of simple summer eve

night sustains but
but doom is the door to the
great beyond and the fates fair or foul
that awaits each of us

a voice echoes along the path
to all the heavens ever proposed by mans thought
that voice speaks of years
spins a tale of labors
whispers songs of longing
quietly shouts story's of horror

reserve your strengths friend
for the battle yet to come
hush your unquiet mind
and lay your head down to rest
soon enough blades shall stir to war
soon enough widows shall gather their children to
graveside rememberence of fallen fathers

as trailing edge of summer day
slips into the past
the depth and majesty of summer night unfolds
crickets and the sounds of feasting familys
warm breeze in the tall grass
the sand of a beach on your fingertips
simple joys in our world and of our lives
are the counterbalance the
the dark things in our world

these saltwater jewels spill from my heart
there are no words she is silent
just soft memory of a kinder girl
she cant hold me in the night
cant aspire the tender notions of her heart
cant trace the new born day on her breast
there is no sunlight here
only cold memory
only distant tears